Thaumaturge: Origins
by JCA99
Summary: A young Argonian leaves his home in hopes of becoming a mage. This is his journey through the Imperial province of Cydrodill to the Nord homeland of Skyrim, and onto the famed College of Winterhold and his following adventures. But will his journey go as planned or will a certain Daedric Prince stand in his way? First fanfic rated T for violence and mild language.
1. Leaving

**Hello everyone, I totally redid this chapter to make it better, anddidn't actually do much better in my opinion. Anyways, I hope you like it. Read on**!

A young Argonian opened his eyes and looked up to a grey, cloud covered, sky from under the bridge. Droplets of rain pelted the ground and a crescendo of thunder rang out over the Cydrodillic town of Kresval. Located in the northern half of Cydrodill, Kresval was a large town, certainty not as big as a city, but large for a Cydrodillic town. The young Argonian, barely into his twenties, rose to his feet and walked out into the rain.

The Argonian, Tanz, had lived alone all his life, having no family didn't make things easy, but the people of Kresval had treated the orphan well. Especially Gren, one of the town's few guards. Gren was an Imperial, like the majority of Cydrodill's population, and had treated Tanz well as a child, even teaching him to fight with a dagger. They had grown close, and Tanz had always looked up to him.

Tanz was normal for an Argonian, he assumed. He had no point of reference except for a few books and comments from the villagers. No other Argonians lived in Kresval other than him. Tanz had a gray, almost black, skin tone. He had two horns that jutted out of the back of his head, and maroon feathers that spread out on the top of his head. He wore black boots, brown robes, a satchel full of supplies, and leather gloves, all given to him by Gren. On hotter days, he would wear a roughspun tunic and a pair of trousers.

The Argonian placed his hands on the ground and pushed himself up. He walked out from under the bridge and along the river that ran through the town. The water streamed down the gentle slope, pulling small rocks and fallen leaves with it. Tanz walked into the market and passed one of the towns guards who nodded to him. Tanz nodded back and proceeded walking through the marketplace. Tanz wasn't a small town, but it was far to small to be a city. Kresval was close to the border between Skyrim and Cydrodill, not as close as its neighbor town, Vagerd, which was about a two day journey from Kresval.

Tanz felt a few drops of rain fall onto his head and he pulled up his hood. The weather only made the day sadder for Tanz, for he was leaving today. After twenty-three years, he was leaving his hometown. Tanz hoped to become a mage, and attend the College of Winterhold in Skyrim. He had been preparing for months to make the journey. He had his dagger, a small sum of money, and his spells to keep him fed and protected on his way. If things went as planned, he would be at the college before the end of the month. Tanz knew only one spell, but he'd hoped to learn more once he arrived at the college.

Though he'd been wanting to leave for years, he was sad. He hated that he was leaving, but he really wanted to go. It was... Conflicting... Tanz looked around at the open shops, most of them were food and general stores, as most citizens didn't carry a weapon. Tanz walked through the market, saying his goodbyes to everyone as he went. He walked by the blacksmiths shop, where Haaki, one of the only Nords in town, sat on a grindstone, holding a blade against the spinning wheel. He looked over at Tanz and waved him over.

"Tanz! I heard you had already left for Skyrim." He said with a smile.

"I was actually meaning to ask you a few things." Tanz said. "About Skyrim." He added.

"Ask away." Haaki replied. Haaki was what Tanz expected a Nord to look like: strong, fit, and hearty.

"Is it true there's a civil war going on over the worship of Talos?"

Haaki sighed as if the subject was already on his mind. "Sadly, yes. The Jarl of Windhelm is leading a rebellion against the Empire. I suggest you stay away from there, he isn't very fond to Argonians, Khajit, or any of the Elves, nor are any of his guards. They especially hate Elves. He blames all Elves for the banishment of Talos worship."

"Why does he hate Argonains?" Tanz inquired, that might be a problem, he had planned to stop in Windhelm to get to Winterhold.

"That I don't know. But I recommend you don't go there if you can avoid it." He warned again.

"What kind of animals should I expect to see during my journey?" Tanz asked.

"Elk, Bears, Rabbits and Wolves are fairly common. Sabertooth Tigers, and Frostbite Spiders are your biggest worry, not to mention the bandits." Haaki said.

"Why should I worry about spiders?" Tanz asked, not quite understanding the Nord's concern.

"They're huge!" He exclaimed, shivering as he thought of the creatures.

_Giant spiders... Perfect..._

"And there's one more thing you should know Tanz." Haaki said, drawing the Argonian's attention, "I'm not exactly a shining example of a Nord, most Nords are stubborn and..." He stopped when noticed the smirk on the Argonian's face. "Yes I know I'm stubborn too but... Well just be careful, many Nords aren't very kind to outsiders." As he finished, he stood up from the grindstone.

He ushered for Tanz to follow him and walked over to a wooden table. The table was littered with weapons and armor, as well as ingots and strips of leather. Haaki lifted an chest plate and uncovered a gold ring. He snatched it from the table and handed it to Tanz. "Here, I made this for you. My wife picked out the gem, I just forged the ring." Tanz looked over the ring in his hands. It was gold, with a blue gem welded to it. "I had it enchanted, it supposedly enhances your spells power. Though I'm not sure how to make it work."

"Thank you Haaki, I'm sure I'll figure out how to use it eventually." He assured him. He bid the blacksmith farewell, and then went off to find Gren. He walked through the market in search of his old friend. After a minute of walking he noticed Morya, the butcher's daughter, holding a basket and picking out different vegetables and feuits that were sitting in a stall. She noticed Tanz and waved. He walked over to her with a smile and she grabbed a loaf of bread and put it in her basket. "Hello Morya, have you seen Gren? I was looking for him."

"Gren? Oh, yes I think I saw him near the north gate... Is it true your leaving for Skyrim soon?" She said.

"Yes, today actually." Tanz replied.

"Well, may the Divines watch over you on your journey." She said, handing him the loaf of bread she had picked. She smiled at him and he bid her goodbye.

Tanz walked over toward the northern gates, where Gren supposedly was. Tanz walked for a few minutes before reaching the north gates and spotting his friend. Gren stood by a closed stall, in chain mail armor. Tanz traipsed over casually to his old friend, trying to hide his discomfort. He'd been dreading the oncoming conversation. The Imperial looked at Tanz with smile and sad eyes. So he'd heard.

"Hello Gren, I assume you've heard?" Tanz asked. The Imperial nodded with a sad smile.

"Your making the trip to Skyrim. That's great. I know you've wanted to go to the College of Winterhold for a long time. I'm happy for you Tanz." The old guard said, trying to sound optimistic about the situation. He pulled a spell from his satchel and handed it to Tanz. "If you ever need it." He said. Tanz grasped the book's spine and immediately recognized it as a spell tome. "Its a healing tome, I hope you won't need it though. Look, its going to be a long journey to the college, so be careful. I'm sure you can handle yourself, but just... Watch your back, alright?"

"I will." Tanz said, a lump forming in his throat. The guard patted his shoulder and smiled proudly.

"Good luck on your journey Tanz." He said. "I hope you find what your looking for at the college."

"Thank you." Tanz said. The two friends said their goodbyes and Tanz turned toward the northern gate. Tanz sighed, the goodbyes would be the easiest part of his journey, and yet it was so hard. Tanz willed himself to walk out of the gate and checked the supplies in his satchel. He was fully prepared for the journey to Skyrim, supplies wise. He wasn't sure if he had the will to leave however. Tanz forced himself to walk on and away from Kresval. He walked out onto the trail for a minute and looked back at his home. He took one last look at his home before turning away, for it may be the last time he would ever see it.


	2. Makor

**Hellllllllooooooooooooo everyone, I know its only been a day since I posted the first chapter but I have a few chapters done already and the first chapter was kinda short so I decided to upload a few more chapters, gonna update maybe once or twice a week if I can.**

**Planning to edit this chapter when I have more time.**

Tanz had been traveling for half a day now and was making good time, he would be heading to Vagerd, his first stop on his trip and the last city in Cydrodill before he crossed the border into Skyrim. It was about a two day journey to Vagerd and he had a day and a half of travel ahead of him. The sun was going down and he would have to stop soon. He found a clearing and pulled out a blanket he'd bought earlier and set it on the ground. He wanted to set up camp before the sun was down. He didn't know exactly how to start a fire, but that's where flames would come in handy. He let out a sigh and looked around the clearing for something to start a fire with.

He grabbed a few twigs and branches, pulled out his knife, and chopped a small branch off a nearby tree. He collected all the branches and walked back over to the campsite and made a smile pile of twigs. He grabbed some large rocks and made a circle around the firewood. He got into a casting position that he had learned and felt his hand warm as a small flame appeared in his hand, he felt energy flow into his hand and saw the small flame extend out to the fire as he concentrated on the firewood. A twig caught fire and soon it spread to the rest of the twigs and branches.

He sat down on the tarp and thought of Kresval. He thought about the reason he was leaving, the one person who peaked his interest in magic. It was years ago when the Argonian was still a boy, he had just caught a rabbit outside the city and was bringing it back to sell to the butcher. He had just entered the city and was surprised to see a group of people in strange robes gathered in the town center, one of them was hurt, another was tending to his wound.

But what was strange was that he was not covering the wound with a dressing or giving him a potion. He was holding his hands near the wound and an orange light was entering the wound from the mans hands. Curious, he walked up to the group and noticed one of the robed strangers was an Dunmer. She looked down at the young Argonian and smiled.

"What is he doing?" The small Argonian asked the woman, a quizzical expression on his face.

"We," she knelt down next the him and pointed at the man, "Are traveling mages traveling back to the imperial city from the College of Winterhold, while we were traveling we were attacked by a group of thieves and he was hurt in the fight."

"What's a Mage?" He asked, millions of questions popping into his head. She looked down at him and chuckled.

She looked at him in surprise, as if debating something. "A Mage is someone who can use spells, spells are gifts given to us by the divines." She explained pulling out a book and opened it, "You can learn a spell by reading these."

"How do you know when you've learned a... a... W-What was it called again?"

"A spell." She corrected.

"Yeah a spell, I've read books before and I can't make a spell." He asked still confused but trying to understand.

"Cast a spell," she corrected, "And this is actually called a spell tome, you can tell by the glyph on the front."They just look like books."

"Can I look at it?" He asked unable to take his eyes of the tome. She nodded and handed him the book. He looked it over and opened it when he heard one of the mages say something.

"Erissa, Mabent's wound is healed, we can move on." A hooded Imperial said to the Dunmer.

He looked up at the Mage held out the tome to her. "Here."

"Keep it, I already know that spell." She said with a smile. She stood back up and turned towards the rest of the group. When she heard something behind her.

"Wait!" He yelled. She turned around and looked at the Argonian child. "Where did you say you came from?"

"The College of Winterhold in Skyrim, one of the best places in Tamriel to learn about magic." She waved and walked out following the group of mages.

"The College of Winterhold..." The Now Grown-Up Argonian said. He didn't remember much of anything after that moment of his childhood. He laid back and took out the healing tome Gren had given him. He read it over a few times before he put it back in his satchel, he then closed his eyes and slipped into a deep sleep...

Tanz opened his eyes to see blue skies and few clouds in the sky. He sat up and noticed the fire was a smoldering heap. Tanz packed up the campsite and headed out. He was surprised he hadn't seen any wildlife besides a few birds. Off in the distance he heard a roar, he stopped mid-stride and listened. Hearing nothing, he continued until he heard it again louder this time. It sounded like it was coming from his right over a ridge. He ran to the edge and saw a bear fighting an Orc, and it looked like the bear was winning. He hurried to find a way down and saw a lower ledge he could get down to the bottom from.

Tanz jumped down and felt a sharp pain shoot up his ankle. His footing gave and he tumbled off the ledge and fell seven feet onto his back. "Ow, damn!" He yelped. The bear rose on its hind legs and brought its arm down on the Orc who attempted to block the attack with his shield. Tanz struggled to his feet and started towards the bear and got into casting position, the small flame materialized and he transferred energy to his hand and flames shot at the bears fur singeing the strands. The bear ignored the pain and slashed its clawed paw at the Argonian, he barely had enough time to bring up his arm in an attempt to shield himself.

The claws tore through the scales and flesh and knocked the Argonian to the ground, he propped himself up on his elbow, looking at his bleeding forearm. He looked back up at the Orc who had now climbed onto a boulder and was slashing at the air keeping the hulking creature at bay. It took all Tanz's strength to get back up and get into casting position. He summoned the flame in his good arm and aimed at the massive beast as it swung its arm at the Orc knocking him to the ground near Tanz and dropping his sword at Tanz's feet.

The bear was now focused on the Argonian and took off towards the lizard. Tanz knew the one spell wouldn't kill the beast before it mauled him, he tried to bring up his injured arm as the bear came closer. The bear was about to lunge at the Argonian when a blast of fire met the monsters Underbelly. The bear stood on its hind leg as its pelt caught fire and it fell on its back.

Tanz grabbed the nearby sword and ran to the fallen creature as it struggled to attack a non-tangible foe. He stood over the creature and held the sword high above his head and plunged the swords tip into the beasts belly. Tanz let go of the sword and a feeling of relief washed over him as he fell to the ground and collapsed.

Tanz awoke to a blinding pain in his arm and ankle and an orange sky filled with swirling clouds. He sat up and noticed the Orc over by a small fire. It was sunset the clouds swirled in the orange sky, soon it would be night and that orange would true to black and stars that dot the sky.

"You're awake, you lost a lot of blood, your lucky your still alive." The Orc chuckled without even turning his head.

"What happened? All I remember was killing the bear and then nothing." The Argonian said clutching his arm in pain.

"I wasn't awake to see anything, but your lucky I woke back up when I did or you would have bled out." He said "It might have been the adrenaline that kept you awake, or it was the fear of being killed. Either way, you still passed out."

Tanz looked at his arm, it was properly dressed with a cloth that was stopping the bleeding. "Thanks." Tanz said.

The Orc held out a small bottle to the young Argonian "It'll dull the pain."

Tanz reached for the bottle but realized this would be the perfect time to try his healing spell. "Wait." He said as he sat down and held his hand over his injured arm. He took out the book with his free hand and started to read. "The injured area should feel numb as its healed. And... " Tanz mumbled to himself. "Alright, I hope this works."

Tanz felt the tips of his fingers warm, and an orange light spread from his hand to his arm. His arm immediately felt numb and the flesh and scales started to regenerate, within a minute the wound was completely sealed. Tanz moved on to his ankle and cast the spell. The Orc sat there staring at the Argonian Mage in disbelief. He then grunted and turned away to stoke the fire. After a few minutes his ankle was completely healed. He sat back and relaxed, that spell took a lot out of him.

"I'm Makor by the way." The Orc said.

"Tanz." He replied.

Tanz looked over the Orc. Makor was a middle aged Orc with a dark green skin tone, one of his two large teeth was chipped. He was wearing hide armor and what looked like some type of metal gauntlets. The sky was now turning black as the sun set. Tanz laid down his tarp near the fire, and sat down. "So... what were you doing fighting a bear?" Tanz asked pulling out the loaf of bread Morya gave him, it was stale now but over the years of being given stale bread, it became his preference.

"I'm seeking out great battles, one opportunity presented itself... so I took it." The Orc said nonchalantly.

"Yeah but you almost died." Tanz said.

"You could die at any moment, what kills you doesn't matter." He said.

Tanz sighed and nodded realizing Makor was right. "Would you mind if I set up camp here?" He asked taking a bite out of the stale bread.

"Sure." The Orc said, "So where are you heading." He asked.

"Skyrim, I'm heading for the College of Winterhold." Tanz said munching on the bread.

"Mage, huh." The Orc said. "I thought I saw you cast a spell against that bear."

"That's nothing compared to what I'm going to learn at the college." Tanz said. "Where are you heading?"

"There's an Orc camp near one of the cities, Markarth I think. I'm heading there with hopes to join the camp." Makor but the bread back in his satchel. The old Orc got up in search of firewood, while Tanz set up his tarp and laid down on his side and fell asleep.


	3. Vaermina's Wrath

** What's up everybody? I hope you like this installment of Thaumaturge. All stuff Elder Scrolls related belongs to Bethesda in this chapter and on. But my characters belong to me, the first half of this chapter might be a little weird But its kinda important for later. Would really love some feedback on how I'm doing. I'd also like to say thank you to addablekiller7x for being the first person to favorite a story of mine, FIRST MILESTONE! Anyways, I hope you like this chapter.**

Tanz woke up to birds chirping and the smell of smoldering wood. He looked around the campsite and noticed Makor was still asleep. Tanz was packing up his tarp when Makor woke up. Makor stood up and packed everything up. Tanz looked over his belongings and made sure he had everything. After the two had everything packed they moved on.

After a days journey they reached the town of Vagerd and Tanz's last stop before crossing into Skyrim. On the way Makor had told him stories of past battles. They had decided that they would be splitting up at the border. As the Orc camp was on the other half of Skyrim by Markarth.

Tanz and Makor were now in the town's inn, the Silver Elk inn. They had already rented two rooms and the sun had set. Tanz's eyes became heavy and he wandered into his room. He had already eaten the rest of the bread Morya had given him.

He laid down on the bed in his room, he closed his eyes and his body become heavy as he fell asleep...

Tanz woke up with a start. A loud crash rang out from the main room, Tanz swung his legs over the side of the bed and stood up. He opened the door to his room and strained his eyes to see the cause of the noise. He thought he saw something in the corner of the room. He started towards whatever it was and noticed it wasn't a person but a cauldron suspended in mid-air.

"What the-" the Argonian said as the cauldron flew at him, narrowly missing him. The cauldron slammed into the door of one of the rented rooms. After a few seconds the door handle jiggled and the door creaked open, a lit lantern went out as the door opened but no one came out. He turned back toward the cauldron but in its place was a man in black robes covering his face from view.

Surprised, Tanz took a step back only to fall flat on his back. The figure came closer without taking a step. The man brought his hand up to his hood, the hand as white as snow. The man pulled pack the hood revealing a bald man, Tanz stood there speechless as the man came even closer. He had no face.

Tanz scrambled to his feet and got into casting position. He waited for the flame to appear, but it never came. The man came closer and pulled a knife dripping with blood and raised it above his head. Tanz tried to move but some unseen force held him in place. The apparition brought down the dagger on the paralyzed Argonian. Just as the blade was about to plunge into the Argonian's unprotected chest, the man disappeared. The whole room disappeared. Suddenly, he was in a long corridor that looked like it was underground.

Tanz heard a sound behind him and turned around. He was met with a pitch black corridor, the sound of water flowing resonated from down the hallway. He took a few steps down the hall when he heard the sound again, it sounded like a rushing water. He felt his boots get wet and looked down and saw a red ooze flowing down the hall towards him. It was blood. The river of blood began to flow faster, Tanz found it harder to stay on his feet. The flowing sound increased to the sound of a raging river.

The "water" level went up to Tanz's ankles and started rising, Tanz turned back around and tried to run but ended up getting knocked over by the river he rose to his feet. His clothes were now soaked in blood. He ran as fast as he could but the river knocked him down, he struggled to get to his feet but to no avail. He tried to swim up but couldn't, he tried harder but again failed. He felt something grab at his ankles and looked down.

Hands were reaching out of the ground and dragging him through the floor. The hands were now grabbing at his arms and he couldn't move at all. He looked back down to see two red eyes staring at him, the eyes turned into a wicked face that began to howl with laughter. The hands were now around his throat and dragging him down more. Hands grabbed at the two horns on his head and dragged him further down.

Deeper and deeper he went until his eyes were the only things above ground, a hand grabbed at his head and dragged him under ground as maniacal laughing filled his head.

"AHHH!" Tanz shrieked as he jolted up in his bed. He panted frantically and sat on the bed, his legs hanging over the edge. He stood up and walked into the main room. Looking around the inn, he saw Makor sitting at a table eating a piece of Horker loaf.

"Oh there you are. What was going on in there, it sounded like you were being attacked." Makor said.

"Something like that..." Tanz said still shaken up.

"What happened?" Makor asked.

"Just a nightmare." Tanz said shivering, his teeth chattering.

"You don't look to good, maybe you should go see the town healer." Makor said.

"A healer can't help with nightmares."

"True, true." The Orc nodded.

"We should get moving soon, what time is it anyway?" Tanz asked.

"Around nine." Makor said.

"Alright, I'm ready when you are." The Argonian said getting up.

"I'm ready now." The old Orc said.

Tanz nodded and they left the inn a few minutes later. They left the town of Vagerd and set out for the border, after half a day they arrived at the border into Skyrim.

"This is it then." Makor said.

Tanz looked past the gate into Skyrim and looked off into the distance and saw large snow covered mountains. Tanz and Makor said there goodbyes and went their separate ways. Tanz entered through the gate while Makor continued along side the border to an entrance closer to the camp.

He looked around at the scenery before him. The landscape changed drastically in just a few minutes, there were far more hills in one area than there were in Cydrodill. Tanz continued on for a few minutes when he heard what sounded like whispering and leaves crunching. He turned around but saw nothing so he kept walking along the trail. Again he heard a loud crunching sound right behind him and knew immediately what it was. It was boots on gravel. He turned around to be met by a sword's hilt slamming into the side of his head. Tanz was unconscious before he hit the ground.

Tanz awoke and heard a few voices talking and heard a horse nicker. He sat up and tried to stretch but his hands were bound, the back of his head was throbbing. He opened his eyes and saw four men sitting around him, the first was wearing ragged and torn clothes. The other was wearing what looked like a blue mesh armor and fur boots, he looked a lot like Haaki, except that he had blonde hair. He had that indescribable presence that immediately told Tanz he was a Nord. The third was wearing expensive looking clothes and a scowl plastered on his face, a piece of fabric was tied around his head covering his mouth. The last was a man in imperial armor, he couldn't see the mans face.

The young Argonian looked around, his hands were bound and he was on a carriage being pulled by a single horse. All the others were bound too, Tanz looked up at the mountains surrounding him. He looked at the other carriages around his, all the passengers looked like the Nord with the chain mail armor. Tanz looked back up at the mountains and sighed. He was a prisoner of the Imperial legion.

"Hey, you. Your finally awake." The blonde Nord said. "You were trying to cross the border, right? Walked right into that Imperial ambush, same as us, and that theif over there.

"Damn you Stormcloaks. Skyrim was fine until you came along," the theif hissed. "Empire was nice and lazy. If they hadn't been looking for you I could have stolen that horse and been halfway to Hammerfell." The thief turned to Tanz. "You there, you and me, we shouldn't be here. It's these Stormcloaks the Empire wants.

"You stole a horse? Maybe you should be here." Tanz replied.

Tanz looked at the Nord sitting across from him. Stormcloaks. These were the men Haaki had warned him about.

"We're all brothers and sisters in binds now, thief." The Nord said.

"Shut up back there!" The Imperial piped up.

"And what's with him?" He said gesturing to the gagged man. Tanz took another look at the man, he was a Nord with light brown hair.

"Watch your tongue! Your speaking to Ulfric Stormcloak, the true High King. The blonde Nord warned the thief.

"Ulfric? The Jarl of Windhelm? You're the leader of the rebellion. But if they've captured you... Oh gods where are they taking us?

"I don't know where we're going, but Sovngarde awaits." The Nord said looking grim.

"No this can't be happening... This isn't happening!"

"Hey what village are you from, horse thief?" The blonde Nord asked.

"Why do you care?"

"A Nord's last thoughts should be of home." The Nord said.

"Rorikstead. I'm... I'm from Rorikstead." The thief said solemnly.

The cart pulled into a heavily fortified garrison that was surrounded by a town. An archer stood on the top of a tower overlooking the area. A soldier walked up to what Tanz assumed was the commander of the garrison.

"General Tullius, sir! The headsman is waiting!" The soldier said.

"Good, lets get this over with." The man said.

*General?* Tanz thought to himself.

"Shor, Mara, Diabella, Kynareth, Akatosh... Divines, please help me..." The thief prayed.

"Look at him," the blonde Nord scowled gesturing at the General, "General Tullius the Military Governor, and it looks like the Thalmor are with him. Damn Elves, I bet they had something to do with this." He stopped to look at a guard tower and continued: "This is Helgan, I used to be sweet on a girl from here. I wonder if Vilod is still making that mead with juniper berries mixed in. Funny, when I was a boy, Imperial walls and towers made me feel so safe.

The cart passed by one of the houses on the porch sat a boy and his father. "Who are they daddy?" The boy spoke up. "Where are they going?"

"You need to go inside little cub." The father said.

"Why? I want to watch the soldiers." The boy whined.

"Inside the house. Now." He commanded.

"Yes father." The boy said with a sigh.

The carriage came to a stop and the prisoners climbed out of the carriage. Everyone was lined up and an Imperial captain was barking orders.

"Get these prisoners out of the carts. Move it!" The Imperial captain growled.

"Why are we stopping?" The thief asked, afriad of the answer.

"What do you think? End of the line." The blonde Nord said grimly. "Let's go. Shouldn't keep the gods waiting for us." Everyone got up and climbed out of the carriage.

"No! Wait! We're not rebels!" The theif panicked.

"Face your death with some courage, theif. The blonde Nord said.

Tanz jumped out of the carriage, his hands still bound. The Nord glanced at him.

"You've got to tell them! We weren't with you! This is a mistake!" The thief pleaded.

"Step towards the block when we call your name." The captain ordered. "One at a time."

The blonde Nord glanced at me and whispered "Empire loves there damned lists."

"Ulfric Stormcloak. Jarl of Windhelm." An Imperial soldier said. The Stormcloak leader walked to the block, the Imperial captain scowled at him as he passed.

"It has been an honor, Jarl Ulfric." The Stormcloak said solemnly.

"Ralof of Riverwood," the soldier continued. The blonde Nord nodded to the Argonian Mage and walked off to the block.

"Lokir of Rorikstead." The soldier read.

"No! I'm not a rebel! The theif yelled. "You can't do this!" He turned and sprinted towards the exit.

"Halt!" The captain yelled.

"Your not going to kill me!" Lokir yelled back.

"Archers!" The captain screamed. The theif had ran by the guard tower when the tip of an arrow entered the horse theif's back and he stumbled and fell to the ground, dead. "Anyone else feel like running?" The captain looked at the Argonian expectantly.

The soldier looked at the Argonian confused. "Wait. You there. Step forward. The soldier examined the list and turned back to Tanz. "Who, are you?"


	4. Escape from Helgan

**Oye ¿Qué pasa (Hello what's up) There will be some translations in this chapter and it was a huge pain finding the right words and stuff to make the sentences and some of the words weren't translated where I found them, so the sentence might sound weird. Anyways I already have chapter five done so I will upload this and chapter five, and then I wont be uploading chapter six until I'm finished with it. So enjoy this chapter... or disfrutar de este capítulo. Sorry, enough Spanish, read on!**

"I'm Tanz." Tanz answered

"Are you a relative of one of the Riften dock workers Argonian?" The soldier asked, "Captain, what should we do? He's not on the list."

"Forget the list. He goes to the block."the Imperial captain said.

"By your orders, Captain," he replied he turned to Tanz. "I'm sorry, well have your remains sent to Black Marsh."

"Kresval." Tanz corrected

"I'm sorry, what?" The soldier said.

"It's a town in Cydrodill, Kresval." The Argonian repeated.

The soldier nodded and scribbled something onto a piece of parchment. "Alright, follow the captain, prisoner."

Tanz followed the captain to the the group of prisoners and stood there, awaiting his fate. So this was how it would end, he would never become a Mage, he would never see Kresval again. So many things he had never done. He let out a sigh and looked at the headsman who smiled wickedly. *At least someone's happy* Tanz thought to himself.

Tanz turned and looked at all the prisoners, they were all Stormcloaks. General Tullius turned to Ulfric. "Ulfric Stormcloak, some hear in Helgan call you a hero, but a hero doesn't use a power like the voice to murder his king and usurp his throne. You started this war! You plunged Skyrim into chaos! And now the Empire is going to put you down, and restore peace."

_The voice?_

A load roar shook the mountains and caused the whole town to look up to the sky. It sounded like thunder mixed with the roar of a beast.

"What was that?" A soldier asked.

"It's nothing, carry on." General Tullius commanded

"Yes." The captain said, "Give them their last rights."

"As we commend your souls to Aetherius, blessings of the Eight Divines upon you, for you are salt and earth of Nirn, our beloved- the priestess began.

"For the love of Talos! Shut up and let's get this over with." A prisoner said walking to the block.

"As you wish." the priestess said slightly annoyed.

"Come on, I haven't got all morning!" The prisoner hissed with disdain. She shoved the Stormcloak to his knees and held him on the block. "My ancestors are smiling at me, Imperials! Can you say the same?" He said with a wicked smile on his face. The headsman lifted the axe above his head and brought it down on the man's neck. Tanz flinched as the man left his body.

"Divines..." Tanz said to himself.

"You Imperial bastards!" A female Stormcloak screamed.

"Justice!" An Imperial soldier said.

"Death to the Stormcloaks!" Another cheered.

"As fearless in death, l as he was in life." Ralof said.

"Next, the lizard!" The captain exclaimed. There was another roar and it sounded closer this time.

"There it is again," a soldier said, "Did you hear that?"

"I said, next prisoner!" The captain barked.

"To the block, prisoner. Nice and easy." A soldier said. Tanz walked up to the block and was immediately shoved down, his head held against the cold stone.

_This is it... I'll never reach the college, and I'll never see Kresval again..._

The headsman lifted the axe above his head. Tanz swore he was grinning. As the headsman prepared to deliver Tanz's end, a large beast flew over and then out of sight. It screeched and landed on the tower shaking the whole town as it unleashed a menacing roar. The headsman was knocked to the ground, unconscious.

"What in Oblivion is THAT?" Someone shouted.

The creature stared down at the Mage. Someone shouted something about the dragon. A tower collapsed and another deafening roar was unleashed. As if on cue a boulder the size of a horse slammed into a house. Tanz was lifted to his feet to see Ralof.

"Come on Argonian! The gods won't give us another chance!" Ralof yelled over the chaos. They sprinted to one of the guard towers, and stopped to catch their breath. Inside was Ulfric and two Stormcloak soldiers, one badly wounded. "Was that really a dragon of legend?" Ralof asked, panting.

"Legends don't burn down villages." Ulfric said.

"We need to move." Ralof said. "Up the tower."

Tanz nodded and ran up the steps following the Nord, when part of the tower wall exploded inward creating a large gap in the wall. The two ran up the stairs up the hole and looked out on the scene before them, the entire town lay in ruin. Most of the buildings were rubble. The garrison was one of the only buildings left standing.

"Your going to have to jump." Ralof said pointing down to the an inn near the tower, part of the ceiling had collapsed inward.

"Jump? Are you insane?" Tanz questioned.

"Just jump, we'll meet with you later." The Nord commanded.

"Divines help me." Tanz said as he prepared to jump.

Tanz took a few steps back and ran as fast as he could as he leaped out of the tower and fell through the roof of the inn. He lay there for a moment and then stood up, his ankle hurt but he ignored the pain, he would deal with it later. He looked for the stairs to get down but in there place was a pile of wood, he hopped down to the bottom floor and ran outside. The soldier from before was standing by another man who looked to be in his sixties.

"Hamming! You need to get over here, now!" The soldier shouted. A child ran over behind the cover of a ruined building as the dragon swooped down and shot a breath of fire over the area. Tanz ran over to the three and the soldier turned towards the Argonian . "Still alive prisoner? Stay with me if you want to stay that way." The soldier said turning to the other two. "You two head towards the garrison and find cover and wait this out. And you," the soldier pointed at Tanz. "Follow me."

The Nord ran over and took cover behind a building with half of its roof obliterated. "Stay closed to the wall!" He directed. Tanz jumped down over a small ledge as the dragon sprayed fire onto a building. The two hugged the wall as they advanced. They moved through a building and exited through what would have been the door.

Soldiers were firing arrows at the beast as it flew over head. The dragon spat fire onto a guard tower, incinerating an archer. The soldier ran down a small slope leading to the garrison and entered through a large archway. The blonde Nord Ralof climbed over a the remains of a tower and ran towards the garrison meeting with the Imperial.

"Ralof you damn traitor!" The soldier hissed at the Stormcloak.

"You can't stop us!" The Nord said to the soldier, he pointed at Tanz. "You into the keep!" He said running towards the entrance.

"Follow me!" The Nord said as he ran towards the barrack's entrance.

Tanz hesitated, he started towards the Imperial when behind him something crashed to the ground knocking Tanz off his feet. Stunned, he glanced behind him and saw the monstrous beast staring menacingly into the young Mage's eyes. Tanz looked into its eyes and saw the doom and destruction it intended. The monster stomped over towards the Argonian.

"_Aan Siigonis? Zu'u lost ni krii gein do hin fron ko aan lingraah tiid._" The dragon said. (An Argonian? I have not killed one of your kin in a long time)

"Come on!" The Nord instructed.

Tanz stumbled to his feet and ran faster than he had ever ran before. The hulking creature emitted a loud roar, that almost sounded like laughter. A group of soldiers charged at the beast full of zeal and yelled at the top of their lungs, swords raised above their heads.

"YOL!" The dragon spat a blast of fire, incinerating the whole group until they were nothing but charred corpses. The dragon turned back towards the Argonian just in time to see the Mage vanish through the barrack doors with the Imperial. "_Fin joor bovul, nikriin._" (The mortals flee, cowards.)

Tanz glanced around the barracks and then turned to the legionnaire.

"What was that thing? Was that really a dragon?" The man ranted in disbelief.

"I don't know what that thing was but I don't want to see it again. We just need to get out of here." The Argonian said trying to calm down the soldier.

"You're right, I'm sorry." The Nord said shaking his head, "I'm Hadvar by the way, your... what was it again... Tanz?"

"That's right," Tanz said, "Alright, so how do we get out of here."

"First, come here, we need to get those bindings off." Tanz stepped forward, Hadvar pulled out a small dagger and cut the binds. "Okay, now we just need to get below ground, there's a network of tunnels, one of them leads out of Helgan. There's some weapons over there if you need anything."

The Mage noticed a weapons rack and walked over. He looked over the array of weapons and saw a sword and pulled out his old dagger. He glanced back up at the sword, he grasped its hilt and took it off the rack, he then grabbed a sheathe and then attached it to his robe. He hefted it and turned back to Hadvar.

The soldier nodded and ran down the corridor, the Argonian following. They made a right and walked down another hallway and met a barred gate. Hadvar looked to the right of the door where a metal chain hung by the gate. The soldier tugged on the chain, a rattling sound was heard and the gate rose into the ceiling. As the two walked in, the sound of a door opening alerted the two. "Get back." Hadvar warned.

Tanz backed back into the hallway, he on one side and Hadvar on the other. "It looks like Stormcloaks, maybe we can reason with them." Hadvar cautiously walked out hands raised. There were two Nords in the same mesh armor that Ralof had on. "Okay, wait a minute, we just want to talk."

The Stormcloaks unsheathed their weapons and charged at Hadvar. The soldier unsheathed his sword and brought it up in defense. A Stormcloak brought a small one-handed axe down on Hadvar's sword, a metallic sound reverberated throughout the hall. Tanz rushed at the man with the sword, out of the corner of his eye he saw the other stormcloak swing a giant hammer at him. Tanz dropped to the ground as the hammer swung above him. The wielder swung the hammer back around and held it above his head. Tanz rolled to his right as the hammer smashed down on where Tanz had just lay.

Tanz brought his hand up and the small flame appeared, he sent a flame blazing towards the man. The flame engulfed the man as he cried out in pain and fell to the ground, in a burning heap. He looked back at Hadvar to see the Nord clash swords with the Stormcloak.

Tanz charged at the man with his sword. As he neared closer he brought up his sword and plunged it into the Stormcloak's chest. The man fell to the ground, lifeless. Tanz yanked the sword out of the man and walked over to Hadvar who was panting. Tanz stood there, stunned. He had just killed someone.

He hadn't expected to be any different than killing an animal. It was, it was very different.

"Nice work." He said as he moved towards the next door.

"Yeah..." Tanz said still shocked..

Tanz and Hadvar advanced through the garrison until they arrived in the imperial torture chamber. The two advanced through the room unhindered. Tanz noticed a knapsack and rummaged through its contents, he found a few lockpicks and put them in his satchel. The two continued on until they found a man laying down on the floor of a cage.

He was dressed in the robes of a Mage. Tanz pulled out a lockpick and fiddled with it for a minute and after a few seconds he picked the lock. He swung the door open and walked into the cell, the man was clearly dead. His skin was a pale white and his body was cold. Tanz knelt down and put his hands on his chest and closed his eyes. Tanz looked over the man: he had to be in his thirties.

As Tanz started to stand up, he noticed a tome in the mans satchel. He pulled it out and skimmed over it, it was a lighting spell. He pocketed the tome and moved on. Eventually they reached the cave entrance and proceeded through. As they continued they found a room filled with webs.

"I have a bad feeling about this..." Hadvar said, worried.

Tanz was inspecting one of the webs when he heard a chittering sound. He looked up to see a giant spider the size of a dog. It launched itself at Tanz, propelled by its eight legs, it shoot like an arrow at the stunned Argonian. Tanz regained his wits a dove out of the way. The creature switched targets and ran at Hadvar. The legionnaire brought up his shield as it slammed into him.

The spider bit at the shield with its poisonous fangs. The spider burst into flame as it burned. It let out a loud shriek and collapsed to the ground, the Nord let out a deep sigh. Tanz stood there still in his casting position, and shivered. He heard the chittering again and looked up a corner of the ceiling was covered in the spiders, Tanz shot flames from both of his hands and the room lit up as the webs caught fire. The room became a raging inferno as the temperatures rised. The two ran out of the cavern.

_Those must of been frostbite spiders Haaki warned me about._

They continued on, afraid to look back. They moved through the caverns until they found a bear sleeping on the floor of the cave. The Nord handed him a bow and a few arrows. "Here use this to catch the bear by surprise or we can sneak by if you feel lucky."

Tanz snuck over past the mass of fur and crawled slowly past the creature. The bears eyes opened and it slashed its clawed paw at the Argonian. He stumbled back, the bears claws narrowly missing him, and tumbled back into a stream of flowing water. He stood up, now soaked, and ran up to the bear.

It swung its paw at him and he dropped down and sprung back up, clutching his sword he slashed at the bear multiple times. The sword slashed through its pelt, the bear howled in rage.

Tanz jabbed the sword into the bears throat. The bear fell on its side and moaned sadly. Tanz pulled out the sword and looked back at the bear, it stared at him pleadingly. He sighed and looked at the injured beast, it's breath was hoarse as it struggled with each breath. He took his sword and placed its tip against the creatures chest. He jabbed the tip into the bears chest as fast as he could to put the beast out of its misery.

The two proceeded through the cave until they arrived at its exit. Tanz ran out of the exit and took in a breath of fresh air. He had survived the attack at Helgan, not to mention what would have been his execution. He thought of the monstrous nightmare that had almost burnt him to a crisp and sighed. A feeling of dread washed over him, the dragon was a dangerous threat to Skyrim and the rest of Tamerial. As long as the creature was alive, no one was safe...


	5. Riverwood

**Hello viewers! This is the fifth installment of Thaumaturge... Kinda out of stuff to say... so... Uh... Enjoy the chapter... Hehe... um... Ya... Oh, all the stuff that belongs to Bethesda is theirs but my characters are mine... And... That's it... **

"Get down!" Hadvar said yanking him down behind cover. The dragon flew overhead and into the mountains. He two stood up and relaxed. "Alright, we need to move on to Riverwood, I need to report to the Castle Dour in Solitude." They walked for a few minutes until they found three statues with strange carvings covering their surfaces.

"What are these things?" Tanz asked examining one of the statues.

"These must be the guardian stones. They're all over Skyrim and can grant powers to anyone who uses them. This one is the stone of the warrior, and this one is the stone of the Mage." He said examining the carvings. Tanz walked up to the supposed Mage stone and examined it, he ran his hand over the carvings and felt a cold sensation wash over him. The statue lit up and a beam of light shot out of the statue into the sky. After a few seconds the light started to fade and eventually disappeared entirely.

"Come on we should keep moving." Hadvar said. They continued on and finally spotted the gates leading into Riverwood. "Okay, I have family that live here. They'll take care of us." Tanz nodded and followed Hadvar through the village. A Nord was pounding burning metal into armor plates and a women was babbling to her son.

"I'm telling you I saw a dragon! It flew over the mountains!" She said.

"Mother, I don't have time for your insanity." The Nord said walking away.

"You'll see! You'll see that I'm right when that dragon kills us all!" The woman yelled at her son.

Hadvar walked over to the blacksmith and walked up the steps. The smither looked up from his work and smiled.

"Hello, Uncle Alvor." Hadvar said.

"Hadvar what are you doing here? I thought you were assigned to General Tullius' guard? And who's this?" The blacksmith asked gesturing to Tanz. "And why do you look like you lost an argument with a cave bear?"

"It's a long story." Hadvar said.

"Come on in, you two must be tired." The blacksmith said.

The three started up the steps and entered the house. The room was darker than Tanz had expected, the only lighting was a candle, window, and the light from a fire. "Hadvar!" A child screamed gleefully. She looked at Tanz and smiled. "Hi, I'm Dorthe. What's your name?"

"Tanz." He replied "Nice to meet you Dorthe."

Tanz looked at the child. She had a gleam in her eyes that reminded Tanz of Arenar.

"Dorthe, go get your mother, tell her Hadvar is here." Alvor said.

"Okay." The child said already running down the steps.

"Now sit down and tell me what he happened." Alvor said.

"Where to start, well you know I was assigned to General Tullius's guard. We were making a stop in Helgan, when a dragon attacked." Hadvar recalled.

"Dragon? You aren't drunk, are you boy?" Alvor asked in disbelief.

"I'm serious, a dragon attacked Helgan!" Hadvar defended himself.

"And where did you fit into all of this?" Alvor asked Tanz.

"I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for him." Hadvar said, "He helped me escape."

"We'll any friend of Hadvar's is a friend of mine, stay here as long as you need to." Alvor said.

"I'm actually planning on heading out soon. Are there any supplies I could take?" Tanz asked.

"Sure, come outside I think I have some armor I could give you." Alvor said standing up.

The two walked outside and walked around the corner into Alvor's workshop. Alvor walked over to a table and waved Tanz over.

"Take your pick." He said gesturing to the items laid out on the table. Tanz looked over the items, on the table were some gauntlets, boots, a shield, helmet, and a chest plate. They were all coated in rust. He looked down at his ragged, torn boots and picked up the metal plated boots.

"What are these?" Tanz asked inspecting them.

"Iron boots, they may be old but trust me they're durable." He informed the Argonian. Tanz picked up the gauntlets and put the right handed gauntlet on. He held his hand out and produced the small flame. So even though he had the gauntlets on he could still cast spells. He looked over the rest of the items and turned back to Alvor.

"How much do you want for these?" He gestured to the gauntlets and boots.

"Nothing, you can have these. They used to be mine, but as you can see my fighting days are over." He said.

"I can't thank you enough Alvor." Tanz smiled at him.

"You can thank me by putting them to good use." Alvor replied. "If you need anything else, I'd stop by Lucan's shop. It's right across the street there." He gestured to a two story building to Tanz's left.

"Alright, thank you Alvor." Tanz said.

"Anytime you need a place to stay, we'll be here. I'll tell Hadvar you left, take care of yourself." He said with a smile. "Oh, and one more thing,"

"Tanz turned back to Alvor expectantly. "Yes?"

"Where are you heading?" Alvor asked.

"The College of Winterhold." Tanz answered.

"Mage, huh." He said surprised. "Are you passing through Whiterun on your way there?"

"Yes, Whiterun is one of my stops." Tanz informed the blacksmith.

"I need you to stop by the Dragonreach, Jarl Balgruuf's palace. I need you to tell him about the dragon." Alvor said, "Riverwood is unprotected, the dragon would burn this place to the ground if it attacked. Can you do that for me?"

"No problem." Tanz assured him.

Tanz left Alvor's workshop and entered through the door to Lucan's store. He was surprised to find a man and a woman arguing.

"No absolutely not! I won't-" He stopped when he noticed the Argonian. "Oh welcome to my shop friend. Take a look at my wares and tell me if you like something."

"Did something happen?" Tanz asked, concerned.

"We... had a bit of a brake in. They stole an ornament, solid gold. My sister Camilla wants to go get the ornament back." Lucan said.

"I could go get it back for you, I mean, if you know where they might have gone." Tanz offered, Camilla's eyes widened in frustration.

"Is this what your going to do? Hire some sell sword to find it?" Camilla questioned. "He doesn't even know where to go." She turned to Tanz, "They went to Bleak Falls Barrow it's a crypt up on a mountain nearby, you can see it from the edge of town."

"I'll get it back for you." Tanz said. "But I was actually looking to buy something."

"Oh, of course." Lucan said. "What were you looking for?"

"Do you have any spell tomes?" Tanz asked.

"I think I have some old tomes somewhere..." Lucan said digging through a chest. "Ah! Here they are." He said pulling out two tomes and placed them on the counter. Tanz inspected the tomes.

"This one is some sort of magic shield, and this one is a ice spell. How much do you want for them?" Tanz asked, still looking through the tomes.

"One hundred septims." Lucan said. Tanz looked into his satchel, he had seventy-two septims.

"I only have seventy-two septims, how about these will be my payment for the job, plus thirty septims." Tanz bargained.

"By the way, watch out for draugr." Lucan said.

"Draugr?" What's a draugr?" Tanz asked, confused.

"Draugr are undead that inhabit the ruins in Skyrim." Camilla said to the intrigued Argonian.

Lucan mulled it over in his head and nodded. "Alright you get me back the ornament and thirty septims now for the tomes." Tanz nodded in agreement and Lucan handed him the tomes. Tanz Handed him the coins and started towards the door.

"By the way, watch out for the draugr. Bleak Falls Barrow is filled with 'em." Lucan said.

"Draugr?" What's a draugr?" Tanz asked, confused.

"Draugr are undead that inhabit the crypts of Skyrim." Camilla said to the intrigued Argonian.

Tanz nodded and walked out the door, then out of the village and stopped by the river that ran through Riverwood. The Argonian sat down, back against a moss covered tree, and studied the tomes. Once he was confident he knew all he could about a spell, he would move on. Finally he moved on to the tome he had found on the mages corpse.

It was a destruction spell. There were three destruction spell types ice, fire, and lightning. This was a lightning spell, if he learned this he would have an ice, fire, and lightning spell. The other tome was a restoration spell, the only restoration spell he knew was a simple healing spell. This was a ward spell, wards were magic shields. They block magic attacks but not physical attacks.

Tanz stood up and pocketed the tomes. He turned towards the tree and got into casting position, he was going to practice his new ice spell. A cold sensation passed through his arm as he aimed his hand at the tree. He focused on the cold feeling and a small jagged form of ice levitated in Tanz hand. He transferred energy to his palm and shards of ice left his palm and shot at the tree. The shards penetrated the tree and sat imbedded in the tree.

Satisfied with the result he moved on and tested the lightning spell. He aimed at the tree and a small crackling ball of lightning appeared in his hand. His arm went numb as current of electricity left his arm and connected with the tree, the tree bark cracked and exploded leaving an indention in the tree the size of a mans head.

Tanz got into casting position and a small blue ball of light appeared. He cast the ward a few times but couldn't know its effectiveness without using it in action. So he moved on across a bridge that lead to the mountain that harbored Bleak Falls Barrow. After a few minutes he started to see snow and the landscape changed to a frozen tundra. He continued on despite the conditions. In the distance he saw what looked like a tower on the edge of a cliff.

He continued on and saw a man standing in the snow next to a tree. Tanz proceeded forward towards the man. The man noticed Tanz and pulled a bow out that was slung over his shoulder. He then pulled and arrow from his quiver and in an instant shot the arrow at the Argonian.

Tanz dropped to the ground and the arrow passed over him. He ran for the cover of a fallen log. Another arrow whizzed by. Tanz prepared his ice spell when he heard shouting that was getting closer every second.

"I'm gonna wear your tail as a belt, Argonian!" One of the men yelled.

Tanz rose out of cover and aimed at the closest one. There were three of them, one was far back aiming an arrow, another had a rather large axe, the closest had an axe and a shield. The shard appeared in Tanz hand. He shot a stream of the shards at the closest man. He attempted to bring his shield up but as he did the first shard entered his abdomen. He fell to the ground, dead.

Another arrow whizzed by Tanz's head and he fell back behind cover. Tanz heard more shouting and it could t have been even a few feet away.

"Just die already so I can take your stuff!" The bandit shouted as he brought his axe down on the log. "Your dead, dead!" The man yelled.

Tanz jumped back and and cast an ice shard at the man but missed. The bandit then charged at Tanz with full force. He swung his axe at the Argonian. Tanz brought up his hands in defense. His hand felt unbelievably hot, he closed his eyes and waited for the attack, but it never came.

"What the-" The bandit said, surprised.

Tanz opened his eyes and saw the man on the ground covered in snow. Emitting from his hand was what looked like a ward but was a darker hue. But instead of blocking a spell it blocked the axe. The man rose to his feet and swung his axe at Tanz. Tanz replicated the feeling and the shield reappeared and the axe impacted ricocheted of the magical wall.

Tanz then backed up and cast his ice spell at the man and three shards penetrated the bandit's torso. He fell to his knees and collapsed into the snow. Another arrow whizzed by Tanz's head and the archer prepared another salvo. The arrow launched from the bow. Tanz brought up the barrier and the arrow bounced off the shield.

He ran towards the archer and held the barrier up with his left hand. Another arrow ricocheted off as Tanz neared closer and closer. Tanz pulled out his sword and swung it at the bandit. His sword tore through the man's flesh and he fell to the ground as the snow around him turned a dark crimson.

Tanz stood there, panting. It was strange, killing was becoming easier. He kept on walking up the mountain, and in a few minutes he saw the entrance to the crypt. He walked up to the ancient door and examined the carvings. He pushed the doors open and entered the ruins.


	6. The Crypt

**Hey viewers! JCA99 here, sorry no Spanish today. I'm zippin through my writing so I think I might be able to get another chapter or two since I have the day off. One thing, I try to proofread before I post anything so if you see something I missed PLEASE tell me. Anyways without further ado, read on! In this chapter our hero delves into the Nordic crypt! Bleak Falls Barrow...**

The crypt was dank and and smelled of rotted flesh and dust. Tanz looked around the large room. In its center was a pillar. On one side was a raised platform, a coffin sat on its peak. Tanz heard two voices on the other side of the room and saw what looked like a light from a fire. A man and a woman were standing around the fire talking. He snuck over just a few feet away from them. Tanz prepared his lightning spell. If it had the same effect on people that it had on trees, it would wreak havoc.

He aimed for the man, he was closest out of the two. The ball of lightning appeared and a stream of light connected with the bandit. The man spasmed uncontrollably and collapsed. The woman grabbed a mace and swung it at the Argonian. The mace collided with Tanz's stomach and knocked home down to the ground. Tanz propped himself up on his left elbow and shot flames out from his right arm. The flames burnt the bandit to a crisp and she fell to the ground.

Tanz started on but saw a chest in the corner. He walked over and opened the lid. He rummaged through its contents. It was mostly food but he found a bag filled with coins. It had to be at least fifty septims.

Tanz grabbed a loaf of bread and a few apples that were inside the box and continued on. He moved on through the halls and stopped when he found a skeever on the floor. It was wrapped in webs.

Tanz kept moving until he came upon a doorway that was blocked by webs. Tanz summoned the small flame and shot a stream of fire at the webs. The force of the spell alone was enough to obliterate the webbing. Tanz proceeded into the room. The room was covered in webs which was a telltale sign of the monsters.

Tanz heard a chittering noise and looked up to see a one of the crawling nightmares. But this one was different, it was four times the size of the ones he had fought at Helgan. The spider dropped down and spat poison at Tanz. Tanz brought up his barrier and the poison splattered onto the shield. Tanz dropped the barrier and the poison dropped onto the ground.

"That's just gross..." Tanz said, bewildered.

Tanz got into casting position and fired a ice shards at the creature and one of the shards hit its leg. The spider screeched and lunged Tanz. Tanz brought up his shield and the spider slammed into it, which launched him into the webbing. He tried to sand up but his leg was stuck in the webs. He shot a stream of electricity at the beast and it shrieked in pain as it spasmed uncontrollably.

The spider backed into its own webbing and its legs stuck to the webbing. Tanz fired a salvo of ice shards at the spider. The monster screeched as the shards stabbed its unprotected body. The spiders legs gave and it fell into the webs.

Tanz held up his hand and the flame appeared in his hand and brought the flame to his trapped arm and melted the webbing away. He stood up and noticed a man wrapped in webs.

"Good, you killed it now cut me down." The Dunmer said.

"Are you the one who stole the ornament from Lucan?" Tanz asked accusingly.

"Yes, I'm Arvel. Cut me down and I'll give the claw back, alright?" The Dunmer replied.

"Why'd you take the claw?" He asked.

"I know how to open the door. The claw is the key!" Arvel said.

*This man is insane.* Tanz thought to himself.

"Please just cut me down and I'll show you." Arvel pleaded.

"Then you'll give the claw back?" Tanz asked.

"Yes, I'll give it back just cut me down!" He said.

"Fine." Tanz said.

Tanz pulled the sword from his sheathe and slashed at the webs. Within seconds the sword was covered in webs. Tanz melted the webs off of his sword and put it back in its sheathe and began to melt away the webs surrounding the Dunmer. After a few minutes Tanz had cut down the man. Arvel rose to his feet and knocked Tanz to the ground and sprinted through the door.

"You fool, why should I share the treasure with anyone?"

"You son of a..." Tanz said as he stood up and sprinted after him.

Tanz chased Arvel through the halls. Eventually Tanz chased Arvel into a room filled with rotted corpses. Tanz stopped when out of the corner of his eye he saw something move he looked over and saw nothing see continued on after Arvel.

"What in Oblivion?" The thief said.

Tanz caught up to him and saw the theif face to face with one of the corpses. Except it wasn't a corpse anymore. It was standing its eye sockets glowing blue and clutching a sword. The Dunmer pulled his sword from his sheathe and swung at the living dead. The corpse brought up its sword and blocked the attack. The undead slashed his sword at the Dunmer and the sword cut through the mans leg.

Arvel fell onto his back and crawled backwards. "No... NO! Get back... GET BACK!" He screamed as the corpse jabbed its sword into the man's chest. His screaming stopped and it morphed into a gurgling sound. The undead yanked the sword from the Dunmer's chest and turned towards the Argonian. It made a growling sound and stalked towards Tanz.

Tanz aimed at the ghoul and fired a round of ice shards at the after-walker. The shards impacted into the ghoul's rib cage and bits of bone crumbled and fell to the floor as the undead died.

Tanz shivered as he looked at the draugr. The blue glow faded from its eye sockets and I few seconds was truly dead. Tanz heard a grunting noise behind him and turned to see two mor of the undead. He fired a current of lightning at the closer of the two and it went down. The second lunged at him with an axe and he delivered a swift kick into the zombies torso. The draugr was knock back but rose back to its feet.

Tanz sprayed fire at the walking corpse and it went down in flames. Tanz turned back to the fallen Dunmer and searched for the claw. Tanz found the ornament in the man's satchel and pocketed it. It was a solid gold claw, it had three icons on the underside and carvings covered its surface.

He started back through the way he came when he stopped. Arvel had said something about treasure and that this ornament was a way to get it. Tanz turned back around and started walking on. He could use the claw to get the treasure, and then give it back to Lucan. Tanz smiled as he thought about what the treasure might be. An ancient power, a room filled with riches, it could be anything.

Tanz stood up and moved on through the crypt, dispatching draugr as he went. He entered a large room, to his left were two coffins. At the far end was a flight of wooden stairs leading to an upper level. A pool of oil sat in the middle of the room and a lantern hung from the ceiling. He continued on through the room and heard the strange grunting sound of a draugr. Tanz looked at the stairs where two draugr were running down towards the Argonian.

Tanz shot a blast of fire at the two and the draugr lit up in a blaze and fell into the oil. The oil lit up and a large fire filled the room. Tanz heard a noise behind him, he looked back and saw three draugr running down the hall he had just came from. Tanz looked at the fire that was now spreading to the wooden stairs.

Tanz dove through the fire and slammed into the zombie. Tanz delivered a fierce punch to its rib cage and ran up the burning stairs just as they began to crumble. The draugr stood there, angrily staring at the intruder.

Tanz continued on as the fire raged, burning the three to a crisp. Tanz exited the room and after an hour had made it to a strange door that blocked his path. The door had three rotating rings that had symbols on them. In its center was an indention where the claw would fit.

Tanz figured out that the rings had to play some part in unlocking the door. Tanz looked over the claw and felt something on the underside. He turned it over in its hands and saw three symbols. A bear on top, a butterfly in the middle, and an owl on the bottom. The rings had the same kind of symbols. Tanz arranged the rings in the order on the claw.

Tanz examined the indention, it looked like the claws should be placed in the indention. Tanz placed it like so and turned the plates moved and the rings aligned. Tanz heard a rattling sound and the door opened. Tanz proceeded through the ruins.

After a few more minutes he walked into a large cave. He walked through the cave and saw a circular wall covered in carvings. By the wall was a coffin and a large treasure chest. Tanz walked up to the wall. One of the carvings was glowing a radiant blue.

Tanz went to examine them more when he heard something behind him. Tanz turned around and saw the coffin being opened from the inside. A draugr climbed out and rushed at the feather-headed lizard. Tanz fired a shard of ice at the undead, but it brought up its shield and the shard shattered against the iron shield.

The draugr advanced towards him and slashed at him with its sword. Tanz blocked the attack with his barrier and the after-walker smashed its weapon on Tanz's shield repeatedly. Tanz pushed the barrier at the zombie, the shield discharged and sent the draugr sprawling to the ground.

*I didn't even know I could do that.* Tanz thought looking at his hand.

The draugr rose up and lunged at the Argonian with his sword. Tanz sidestepped the attack and slashed at the undead, tearing through its rotted flesh. Tanz discharged his barrier, knocking the draugr to the ground. Tanz ran up and stomped on its rib cage, shattering its frail bones.

After the adrenaline wore off he moved to the treasure chest, It was already open, someone had been here before... He flipped open the lid and found a sword. Tanz hefted the sword. It was awe-inspiring, the detail was remarkable, the pommel was a triangular shape, and the guard had an engraved pattern.

He held the sword in one hand and pulled out his old sword he received at Helgan. He dropped the old sword and put the new one in his sheathe. Tanz searched for a way out and saw a flight of stairs made of stone, that had to be the way out. Tanz hurried up the stairs and saw natural light from down the stone hall. He hurried through the exit. He had had enough of the crypt...


	7. Whiterun

**Good evening everyone! Or wait good morning... Depends were you live I guess. Ah well Night, day, hay, shmay. This is the newest installment of Thaumaturge! In this chapter Tanz's greatest triumph and his greatest surprise come to pass... You guessed it! It's some pie! (Screw sweet rolls) Just kidding... *Laughs maniacally* gotcha! Hehe... No? Not funny? Okay then... Read on!**

**EDIT: edited a big chunk of this chapter, and probably going to adjust some of the earlier chapters later.**

Tanz held up his hand to shield him from the sun's rays. His eyes adjusted and the mer. He was out of the crypt and up on a ledge overlooking a lake. He assumed it was lake Ilunalti. There were four lakes in Skyrim, Lake Ilunalti, Lake Geir, Lake Honrich, and Lake Yorgrim. He looked from the ledge for a sign pointing to Riverwood.

After a half an hour he was back in Riverwood. Tanz walked into town and entered Lucan's shop.

"Ah, your back already!" Lucan said and mumbled something under his breath. Tanz swore he heard "come back" and "wouldn't". Tanz walked up to Lucan and handed him the claw.

"Thanks for this, I won't forget it. I found another spell. If you want it, it's yours." Lucan said.

"Sure, I could always use more spells." Tanz said.

Lucan handed him the tome and Tanz pocketed this. Tanz left the shop a few minutes later. Tanz headed over to Alvor's workshop where Alvor was making a rather large sword.

"Alvor?" Tanz asked, he needed directions to Whiterun.

"Ah, hello Tanz, what do you need?" Alvor asked with a smile.

"I need directions to Whiterun." Tanz said.

"Oh, alright." He said and pointed off to the north. "You just head out across the bridge, and head north. You'll see it, it shoudlnt take long to get there." He informed the Argonian.

"Thanks Alvor, I owe you one." Tanz said.

"Any time." Alvor said.

Tanz left the village and crossed the bridge over the river. Tanz continued on and in less than ten minutes he saw the city of Whiterun. After a few more he was at the stables. A horse nickered as it drug a plow through a field of dirt and a group of men carried in crops with wheel barrows. Tanz started through the gates when he heard a roar off in the distance. It was the same roar that he heard at Helgan.

Tanz looked towards the source of the roar saw something in the sky, it was attacking a guard tower. It had to be the dragon from Helgan. Tanz ran off towards the tower. As he got closer he saw a man running towards him. The man stopped infront of Tanz and started to wave him away.

"No! Turn back! That things gonna kill us all!" The man panicked, he was wearing a variation of what the Stormcloaks were wearing, but it was yellow, and he was wearing a metal helmet that covered his entire head and face.

As he said this a group of guards ran up to the two. They were lead bye a dark elf in leather armor, a large group of guards, and a tall Nord. The Nord was wearing an iron helmet and a leathery-looking armor. He had dull blue eyes and brown hair and a short beard.

"Guard, what happened to the tower?" The woman said, pointing at the remains of the tower.

"Theres no time to explain, we need to get out of here." He said. A fearsome roar rang out from the mountains and the group turned their heads and examined the mountain. Something flew from a perch on a mountain and dove down toward the group.

"Look out!" A guard yelled. A stream of fire leapt from its maw toward the waiting group. Tanz dove out of the way of the blast and heard a shriek. A guard had been hit by the blast and had fallen to the ground in a burning heap.

"Head for the tower, we'll find cover there!" Someone commanded. Tanz turned to look at the group that had already started running toward the tower. Tanz turned and ran after group as he heard another menacing roar. Tanz looked back over his shoulder for the monster, but it was gone. It had vanished into the mountains. Tanz finally caught up to the guards who had drawn bows. They were hiding behind the cover of the fallen tower, awaiting the creature's attack.

A Dunmer crouched behind the rubble of the tower along with the Nord. She waved him over and he ran up to the two And crouched behind the fallen wall.

"Who are you?" She asked urgently. The Nord looked out over the sky, watching for the monster's return.

"Tanz." The Argonian answered She lookea up at the mountains and then back at Tanz.

"Can you fight?" She asked quickly.

"Yes." Tanz answered. "Who are you?"

"I'm Irileth, the Jarl's housecarl." She said.

"Valund." The Nord said, watching the mountains intently, a ever tightening grip on his sword.

"Irileth!" Someone shouted. Tanz turned and saw guards moving toward them. One of them was badly injured leaning against the other guard. His leg was bent at an odd angle his arm was crushed. "We found one of the guards!" The guard yelled.

"Bring him here." She said. He rushed over and the set the wounded guard down on a piece of rubble. Another roar resonated throughout the valley and the dragon dove from a cliff.

"Damned dragon!" The Dunmer yelled in anger. The dragon swooped down at the group and opened its mouth, preparing to attack. Tanz raised his hand and fire spewed from his hand and rose into the sky. The dragon dove down and roared in anger as the fire engulfed the monster. Tanz raised his hands to shield himself as the dragon slammed into the ground. The dragon rose onto its hind legs and spat fire at the rubble. Tanz crouched behind the fallen wall as the dragon sprayed fire over the fallen tower.

Tanz looked over to his left and saw Valund and Irileth moving over behind the rubble, toward the lumbering dragon. Tanz peeked over and looked up at the dragon. It was a bronze color, with small spines along its back, a different dragon than the one at Helgan. That meant there was more than one of these things, and each was a threat to Skyrim. It turned and spat a ball of fire at a pile of rubble, and it exploded, along with two guards. Valund looked over at him and he pointed at a pile of rubble, wthrees even guards were hiding. He looked back at Tanz and mouthed 'go'.

Tanz turned and made his way over to the guards, who kept their eyes on the dragon. The dragon examined the rubble wearily, and finally turned to spray a chunk of rubble with a blast of fire.

Irileth and Valund waved at them from behind a large pile of stone rubble. Valund jabbed a thumb in the direction of the beast and hide back behind the rubble.

"This is crazy, were going get killed." One of the smaller, skinnie guards said.

"Look, what we do now decides that fate of Whiterun's citizens." Another said and rose to his feet, he brandished an axe and the others followed suit, preparing weapons. They turned and ran out from behind the rubble, weapons raised over their heads, screaming a battle cry as they charge toward the monster. "Victory, or Sovngarde!" They yelled.

The dragon looked at the large group of guards, bewildered. It looked from man to man for a moment before spraying a bout of fire at a lone guard. He shrieked and fell, but the others kept charging. Tanz finally ran after the group, just as another ball of flame hurtled at the group, resulting in an explosion of flames. Tanz raised his hands and currents of lightning streamed from his fingertips, toward the dragon. The currents connected, but had little affect on the lumbering beast. It shrugged off the attack, but the guards had closed in, and Irileth and Valund where running in from the other side.

The dragon swung its tail and hit a guard, resulting in a sickening _crack _as the man's bones snapped. He fell backward a few feet and lay still on the singed grass and dirt. Valuand beat Irileth to the dragon's side and slashed at the creature's scaly hide. sword blade bounced harmlessly off the dragon's armor. The dragon turned and prepared a fire blast. Tanz fired an ice shard at the dragons ahead and missed, hitting its neck. The shard of ice sank into the beasts neck like a blade, and it howled in a mixture of anger and pain. It turned and glared at Tanz with the same look the other dragon had, but less intense, less _evil. _

_"_Its neck..." Tanz murmured. He looked at the guard who were slashing at the dragon's scales. Its neck was exposed, the scales didn't completely cover the nearrows noticed the arrow buried in the monster's shoulder, on its underbelly. The neck and shoulders were its weak points. "Its neck and shoulders are its weak points!" Tanz yelled over the roaring and sounds of battle. Valund turned to Tanz and looked back at the dragon. Tanz launched three more shard at its shoulders and neck, one of them missing. The dragon turned toward Tanz and spat a ball of fire at the mage. Tanz stepped out of the way of the orb and it exploded behind him. Tanz ran at the dragon, sending a current of lightning at the beast. Valund ran up to the distracted beast and climbed up the dragon's wing.

He climbed onto its neck and he held on as it thrashed around desperately. He stood up and the dragon started to lift off the ground. "Zu'u du hin qeth, joor!" The dragon shouted. Tanz aimed for the dragons wings and launched multiple shards. A few of the shards hit the wing, tearing the skin. The dragon lost its balance and fell back to the ground. Valund readied his sword as the dragon rose back onto its feet. He slashed at its neck and cut through the flesh and scales. The dragon rose back onto its back legs to try and shake off the Nord. Tanz aimed for its neck and launched three shards. The shards connected with its shoulder and the dragon screeched. Valund jabbed the sword into the dragons's neck and it roared weakly.

"Nid! Zu'u fen kos hin oblaan!" The dragos shouted defiantly. (No! I will be your end!)

Valund yanked the sword from its neck and ran, unsteadily, along it the beasts neck up to its head. The dragon shook its head vigourusly in an attempt to shake off the Nord, hitting a guard in the process. Tanz launched a shard of ice at the beasts neck. It sank into the lizard's neck and blood dripped from the wound. Valund lifted his sword high above his head and jabbed it he tip into the dragon's vulnerable eye. The dragon roared a deafening roar that seemed to shake the entire valley and fell into the dirt with a heavy thud, throwing Valund to the ground. The dragon huffed weakly and died. Tanz rushed over to Valund who was rising back to his feet.

"Are you alright?" Tanz asked, he had fallen fairly far away from the dead dragon's corpse.

Yeah, I think so." Valund answered, he had a small cut on his cheek and blood on his arm. Whether it was his or the dragon's, he couldn't tell.

"Look!" A guard shouted. Tanz looked over at twas guard who was pointing to the dragon's corpse. The scales caught fire and burned a brilliant orange color diss disappeared into the air, revealing the beast's skeleton. A swirling energy left the creature's body and raced towards Valund. Valund fell to his knees as his body absorbed the magical energy. After a moment the energy faded away, and Valund stood up.

"What was that?" Tanz said warily as the remaining guards approached.

"I don't know..." He said, looking himself over. The guards stared at him in disbelief.

"I can't believe it... Your dragonborn..." One of them said.

Valund looked at himself and then back up at the guard. "What do you mean? Dragonborn?" He asked.

"A dragonborn is a mortal with the blood and soul of a dragon, who can absorb a dragons's soul and use them to 'shout'." The guard explained.

"What?" Valund said defiantly. "What are you talking about?" Irileth walked up to the group and stopped, hands on her hips.

"Look, we can get this sorted out later. We should get back and report to the Jarl." She said. One of the guards turned to her.

"Wait, what if he really is dragonborn?" He asked.

"We will discuss this later, lets go." She said impatiently. The guards nodded and set out for Whiterun. Tanz looked back at the dead dragon, who lay there in the dirt and mud. he looked back at the others, and after a moment, walked after them.

* * *

Tanz was now in the Jarl's palace, standing before him, along with Valund. "And that's what happened." Valund said.

"Dragonborn? Really?" The Jarl said. He had on an expensive looking robe and circlet adorned with gems.

"Yes..." Valund said, he hadn't seemed to excited about this 'dragonborn' business. Valund had taken off his helmet and held it in his left hand. He still had dried blood on his arms and face.

"Hmm, if you truly are the dragonborn, you should venture to High Hrothgar. The graybeards reside there, they could help with this dragonborn issue." The Jarl, Balgruff said. "Anyways onto the dragon threat..."

"Riverwood requests aid, there completely defenseless against a dragon attack. They want you to send troops to Riverwood." Tanz said. Balgruuf nodded and turned to his advisor.

"What should we do Proventus? Should we send troops to Riverwood?" Balgruuf asked. The advisor shook his head.

"I strongly advise against that. If we move troops to Riverwood, Falkreath would see it as a threat." Proventus warned.

"What if the dragon attacks? It would obliterate the town, just look at what happened to Helgan." Tanz argued.

"Trust me my liege. It would be a mistake to do this." The adviser protested.

Balgruuf sat there thinking, and finally decided. He turned to the dark elf. "Irileth, gather a group of guards we will sent a group to Riverwood." He said with finality.

"But, that could have disastrous consequences and-" Proventus interjected.

"Silence! I will not sit idly by while a dragon destroys my hold and slaughters my people!" The Jarl interrupted him. "You, you should stay at the Bannered Mare tonight. It's an inn in the plains district."

Tanz started to walk out of Dragonsreach when someone caught his arm. He turned and saw Valund with a worried expression on his face.

"Look, Tanz. About all this dragonborn business... I don't know what to do about this, Balgruuf says I should go to High Hrothgar, but I don't know. I'm just a sellsword, I'm not sure if I can handle this." He said worriedly.

"Valund, this seems important. I say you should at least go there and find out what your getting into. Nothing says you have to deal with this though." Tanz advised.

"Alright, alright." Valund said, more to reassure himself than anything else. "I'll and hear them out. I'll see you later then, I'm heading out in a few days."

Tanz bid Valund goodbye and walked out of dragonsreach. Tanz looked out over the quiet city. It was late at night and the sun had gone down. The citizens had returned to their homes and the night guards patrolled the streets. A guard stood a few feet away, holding a torch. Tanz walked over behind him.

"Excuse me guard, I need directions to the Bannered Mare." He asked. The guard turned aroun quickly and relaxed.

"It's down in the plains district. By all the shops." He directed him, pointing down to a group buildings and stalls. You could see the entire hold from Dragonsreach.

Tanz walked down through the cloud district and onto the plains district. Tanz entered the Bannered Mare after searching for a few minutes. The inn was different than the ones in Cydrodill, in its center was a large fireplace with chairs and tables sitting around it. To the right were a few bar stools and a table. A woman, who he assumed was the proprietor, was cleaning out a used mug.

Tanz looked over the rest of the inn's occupants. A man was standing by the fire singing a song and playing a lute while doing about anger or aggression. The rest of the occupants were sitting at the tables eating and drinking, a drunken Nord attempting to sing along to the song.

Tanz walked over to what he assumed was the proprietress and sat down at the bar stool. He ordered some food and ate his fill. Courtesy of the crypt's treasure trove. Tanz purchased a room from the innkeeper and she lead him to the room. They walked up a small flight of stairs and entered the room.

Tanz's rented room was quite large, it contained a massive bed, a nightstand, dresser, and chest for his belongings. Tanz sat down on the bed and unclipped the sheathe from his belt and set it down on the dresser. He took off his hood, revealing his red feathers and two horns atop his head.

Tanz removed his satchel from his belt and set it down on the nightstand pulled out the spell he received from Lucan. Tanz had no idea what the spell was. The symbol on its cover had a circle in the middle with two curved lines swerving inward. The circle, was connected by a line to a bar that connected to the two curved lines.

He read through it a few times, the tome had something to do with "Atronachs". Tanz had no idea what an "Atronach" was but he didn't want to end up destroying the inn trying to use the spell. The argonian decided to wait until tomorrow to try out the spell. Tanz laid down on his side and closed his eyes. But what Tanz didn't know, is that he wasn't going to sleep soundly...


	8. Daedra and the like

**Hello everyone, this is the latest installment of Thuamaturge. This chapter is kinda out their but its completely original. At one part of the story Ityped the dialogue in another language, the language is Greek and if you speak Greek it will actually mean something. But don't worry people who don't speak Greek, its not very important what it says. Another thing is that I changed the last two chapters a bit. Tanz will not be Dovahkiin, I never really liked the whole being leader and hero of everything. so besides that enjoy the chapter. READ ON!**

Tanz opened his eyes and immediately felt unbelievably hot. He sat up and took in his surroundings. This definitely was not where he had fell asleep last night, that much was blatantly clear.

"What in the..." The Argonian said, bewildered.

The area surrounding the young Argonian had transformed from the his rented room at the inn, to a realm of fire and lava. He sat on beach of red sand, in waters place, a sea of lava. It almost looked like he was on an island. He could see an tower off in the distance, it looked almost... demonic. Tanz had no idea where he could possibly be so he set out for the tower it was his best bet for finding out where he was.

Tanz left the beach and walked up to a large canyon that seemed to lead him to the tower. He looked around for another way to the tower, but the canyon was the only way through. It was almost as if the land was shaped to lead him here. Seeing no alternative, Tanz entered the canyon. The land sloped downwards and Tanz struggled travel down without falling.

He had almost made it to the bottom when the dirt under his right foot gave way and he tumbled down the incline. After falling a few feet he came to a halt. "Gah! Dammit!" He yelled. After he got his feet and the gravel and dirt settled, he heard what sounded like someone snickering. He looked around the canyon and saw nothing but a few dead trees. Then off a few yards away he saw a light. He examined more closely and saw that in the light was the outlining of a girl. An Argonian girl.

"Hello?" He said to the girl. The child turned and ran down the canyon away from Tanz. Without thinking, he ran after the girl at top speed. As Tanz ran after his kin, he saw another light out of the corner of his eye. It was another spirit, or whatever the two apparitions were. They were dressed in long robes that covered their entire body. One wore a hood that covered his face.

"Stop!" The spirit commanded. Tanz stopped and turned towards the apparition. The ghoul was clad in robes and clutched a sword in its hand. "Another conduit?" The spirit asked itself, "Are you on your trials, Conduit?"

"Conduit? What are talking about ghost?" Tanz asked, completely confused.

"Our mistress hasn't contacted you?" The spirit said and looked off towards the tower. "Strange that she hasn't contacted you..."

"Bros! Who are you talking to?" A female voice asked.

"Another conduit, Sadean!" The apparition responded.

"Another? That was fast. Who was the last Conduit to take the trials? Was it Coren or Minego?" The voice asked.

"Veren was the last conduit to take the trials. You." Bros said and turned to Tanz. "Whats your name?"

"Tanz..." Tanz said warily. "Where am I?" Tanz asked the spirit.

"Tanz. Well, I wish you well on your trials." Bros said.

"And hope you don't die." A woman added.

"Sadean, don't scare him." Bros scorned.

"Why? He doesn't have a choice. Either he dies or he passes and becomes a Conduit, and keeps the powers it grants.

"Conduit, powers, trials." Tanz listed. "What in oblivion are you talking about!?" The Argonian screamed.

The two sighed and started to explain the situation to the Argonian. "You, Conduit, are in the realm of Quagmire. The realm of Quagmire is Vaermina's realm of Oblivion." Sadean said.

"Oblivion? The daedric realm?" Tanz asked.

"Yes, that is correct Conduit." Bros said.

"You keep calling me Conduit. What does that mean?" Tanz said. The two spirits looked up and stood there silent. After a few minutes Tanz spoke up.

"What are you guys doing? You're just standing there?" Tanz asked, slightly frustrated.

"You don't hear her?" Bros asked, confusion plastered on his face.

"Hear who?" Tanz asked. The two looked up and nodded.

"He cannot hear you, mistress." Sadean said. They nodded and turned back to Tanz.

"Yes, my lady." Bros said.

Tanz stood there in confusion as the two had a conversation with the air. "Who are you talking to?" Tanz asked.

"Vaermina." Sadean said.

"Something is wrong with her connection to you. She speaks to you but you cannot hear her. She has assigned me to be your liaison to her, to pass along messages and such. In a way I will be your guardian and I will pass on the word of Vaermina." Sadean said.

"Wait, I can't hear her? And you can?" Tanz asked.

"Conduits should be able to hear Vaermina at any time. Since something is... Wrong. I will be your liaison to our Mistress." The spirit approached the Argonian and pulled a dagger from his cloak and plunged it into Tanz and chest. The dagger phased into the Tanz's body and his body evaporated and Tanz's body absorbed the spirit into his soul.

The air was sucked out of Tanz's body as the essence seeped into his body and mind and the spirit evaporated. When Tanz regained his bearings he noticed there was only one spirit.

"Where'd he go?" Tanz asked Sadean.

"It's been along time since one of us has done that." She said with a smirk.

"Since one of you did what? Where'd he go?" Tanz asked again.

"Calm down child. I'm in here." Tanz heard the spirit's voice but couldn't find him.

"Bros is in your head, Conduit." Sadean said.

"He's in my head!?" Tanz said in a panic.

"Calm down. Bros will be your guardian, he will relay messages from Vaermina." Sadean said.

"Bros? That's his name?" Tanz asked.

"Yes, Bros and I were Conduits during our lifetime. But unlike past Conduits we did something to draw Vaermina's attention." She said.

"What did you do?" Tanz asked.

"I led an attack on an Orc camp that apparently was planning to pillage a town in Cydrodill." He told the Argonian.

"And I freed Argonian slaves in your homeland, Black Marsh." She said.

"My homeland is Cydrodill." Tanz corrected him, "I don't really embrace my Argonian heritage."

"Very well then." Bros said.

"Anyways, what's this about being a Conduit?" Tanz asked.

"Conduits are what link Vaermina to Nirn, without them she wouldn't be able to access the mortal realm." Bros said.

"Do we get a choice in being a Conduit?" Tanz asked.

"No, Vaermina selects Conduits at birth. She can foresee the life, past or future, of any Conduit." Sadean said.

"Then what's the point of these trials then?" Tanz asked.

"Vaermina bestows powers to us at birth, these trials determine whether we may keep them." Bros said.

"How am I supposed to use my powers." Tanz asked.

"We'll my power was unlimited strength, I was never fatigued. I could fight for days on end without a moments rest. And I had the strength of a giant." Bros said.

"My power was unlimited magicka reserves." Sadean said.

"Magicka reserves?" Tanz asked.

"Yes, I was a mage in my time. Vaermina took that to heart and gave me unlimited reserves of magicka." Sadean said.

"No, I mean what are magicka reserves?" Tanz asked again.

"What, your a mage yes? Mages have reserves of magicka which they use when they cast a spell. Spells use up magicka and once you run out of magicka you can't cast a spell." Sadean explained.

"I've never had a problem with my magicka reserves before." Tanz said.

"Hmm, maybe my gift could have been given to you." Sadean pondered.

"So your saying I have an unlimited magicka reserve?" Tanz asked.

"Most likely, but not in this realm. Our powers don't have any affect in here." Sadean said.

"Child, Vaermina commands you to proceed to the tower." Bros said.

"And if I don't complete the trials I won't have my power?" Tanz asked.

"That is correct." Bros said.

"Alright then, what's the trial?" Tanz asked the spirit.

"You must proceed through the canyon and onto the tower." Bros said.

"That's it?"

"It's more strenuous than you'd think." Sadean said.

"Alright then." Tanz said.

"Good luck, Conduit." Sadean said.

"Thanks, I hope I won't need it." Tanz said and turned and walked through the canyon. As he walked he realized he had forgotten about the Argonian he had saw earlier. "Bros, was it?" Tanz asked.

"Yes Conduit?" Bros asked expectantly.

"Before you showed up I saw someone else. Are we the only ones in here?" Tanz asked.

"No, there are other Conduits who have earned there place here, sacrifices to keep our lady's wrath at bay, Daedra, and others." Bros said.

"Daedra?" Tanz asked.

"You have a lot of questions you know. Daedra are what most mortals refer to as demons or Dremora. They serve various Daedric princes, our lady being one of them, and inhabit various plains of Oblivion. I'd watch out for them while on your trial, the quite dangerous." Bros explained.

"What do they look like?" Tanz asked the spirit.

"You'll know its them when you see them. Why did you ask about other inhabitants?" Bros said.

"Before you showed up, I saw a girl, an Argonian. As soon as I said something she ran away. And that's when you showed up. I was just wondering who she might be is all." Tanz explained.

"Could be a sacrifice. Many towns are afraid that Vaermina will curse them for whatever reason, so they sacrifice someone to appease her. The child might have been a sacrifice."

"So they just live here forever?" Tanz asked horrified by the thought of living in this realm of fire for eternity.

"We'll this may sound strange but this land doesn't look the same way for me as it does you. The land looks slightly like Nirn, but the sky always appears as it would if it were sunset in your realm."

"Everything looks like Nirn to you? Because to me it looks-" Tanz started.

"I was here once to take my trial. I know what you see and feel, but Vaermina wants here servants to at least live somewhere more... Appealing. But only the Honored Conduits see what I see. The Daedra and sacrifices see what you see."

"I'd hate to live in this realm for eternity." Tanz said, looking around the hellhole.

"Well, the Daedra don't exactly hate it, but the sacrifices definitely do." Bros said.

"We'll hate is an "understatement" compared to what they probably think of this place."

After walking for about an hour the "two" reached a forest of dead, twisted trees. Tanz proceeded through the forest cautiously. As he walked a dark fog set on the The forest didn't look like rabbits and elk frolicked in it.

"Be wary child. This place is not safe." The spirit said.

"What made you say that? The dead trees or the fact that the fog is as black as a horse's eye? Oh wait, I forgot that there were a few blood red leaves on the trees..." Tanz said sarcastically.

"No need to be snide." The spirit said.

As Tanz walked he heard what sounded like multiple people whispering. Ahead of him he saw something in a tree. An arrow whizzed by Tanz's head and he ran for the cover of a nearby tree.

"Netano veeg!" The demon screamed.

Another one of the demons ran at the tree and swung a hammer at the tree. The face of the hammer collided with the tree and the bark shattered as the tree collapsed.

"Oa gisay uqoipive!" The demon yelled in anger.

The Dremora raised the axe above his head and launched it at the mage. Tanz blocked the attack with a barrier and discharged it. The force of the push sent the hammer backward and the man on his back.

Tanz fired a current of lightning which electrocuted the demon. The archer fired another arrow at the Tanz and it hit the tree next to him. He attempted to fire shards of ice at the demon but in its place a blast of ice left his hand and it connected with the demons chest. A sheet of ice covered the demons chest as it fired another arrow and Tanz. Tanz brought his gauntleted hands up that blocked the arrow.

Tanz fired multiple blasts of ice at the demon until the being was completely frozen in a block of ice. Tanz grabbed the hammer out of the dead Daedra's hand and swung it at the block of ice. The block stood no chance against the force of the hammer and it shattered along with the Dremora inside. Another demon ran at the Argonian at top speed, holding a sword high above his head.

The demon swung a sword at Tanz but he dodged to the right and swung the hammer at the demon. The face of the hammer collided with the Daedra's rib cage and the demon's ribs cracked and snapped. The Dremora fell to its knees, clutching its chest. Tanz brought the hammer above his head and smashed it down on the demons back and another demon left Quagmire.

Tanz dropped the hammer and was surprised by his skill with it. Tanz proceeded through the forest every sound putting him on edge. As he walked through the timberland, he noticed that it was getting darker.

After a few minutes he saw something as tall as one of the trees move. Tanz wasn't sure if he had imagined it or if his eyes were tricking him. He hoped it was one of the two and not the third most likely situation. He approached the potential threat and noticed is was a giant man. He was wearing what looked like a bears pelt around his waist and held a large branch. Tanz walked up to the creature cautiously.

"Hello?" Tanz asked the giant man.

The giant turned towards Tanz and huffed. The giant sat there, disinterested in the small Argonian. Tanz attempted to walk past the giant but as soon as he did, the giant stepped in his way. The giant growled at the Argonian in anger. Tanz tried again but the giant repeated the same action.

"What's with this thing?" Tanz asked.

"I'm not quite sure. It's obviously part of your trial, but I don't know what to do." Bros said.

"Thanks for the help..." Tanz said sarcastically.

Tanz tried walking to his right, at least twenty feet away. Tanz made sure the giant wasn't looking and walked on. As soon as he walked a few feet, the ground shook and Tanz lost his footing. He looked at the source and saw the giant stomping over to him, his face contorted in anger.

"Uh-oh..." Tanz said struggling to his feet, but the giants footsteps shook the ground, making it impossible to stand. The giant stormed over, its club raised above its head. Just as the giant neared, it swung the club at Tanz. Tanz closed his eyes and waited for the club's impact but it never came.

Tanz opened his eyes and saw Bros standing in front of him, a an axe and shield in his hands. He held his shield up which was what blocked the club. Bras shoved the shield into the giant and the giant toppled over onto its back. Tanz stood up and stared at Bros.

Tanz created the small ball of energy and cast a current of lightning at the giant. The giant winced but shrugged off the attack but not without difficulty. Tanz cast lightning from his second hand now while Bros prepared to attack. The giant neared closer and swung the club at the two. Bros dodged while Tanz brought up his barrier, but the force of the attack sent Tanz flying. Tanz scrambled back to his feet as the giant brought its foot down on the spot he had just lain.

"Conduit, use a fire spell on its club!" Bros commanded.

The small flame appeared in Tanz's hand and Tanz shot a blast of flame at the giant's club. The log caught fire as the flames collided with wood. The giant dropped the branch and clutched its burned hand.

Tanz fired a round of ice shards at the giant and the shards impaled him. The giant fell to the ground as it bleed to death. Tanz walked over to Bros who stood there standing triumphant over the giant.

"It has been so long since I have killed. How I missed the rush, the adrenaline you get from killing!" Bros said with a smile.

"How did you get out of my head? I thought you were supposed to be... In my head!" Tanz asked his guardian.

"Like I said, I'm your guardian. whenever you need help I'll be there to aid you. Summon me when you wish and I will meet the call." Bros assured him.

"So, you can just pop out of my head, whenever you want?" Tanz asked.

"Apparently." Bros shrugged. "It takes a lot of energy to do this, so I can't do it very often. But when I'm in your mind you will have some of my skills."

"What kind of skills will I have? Like your unlimited strength?" Tanz asked.

"Not the full extent of my power, but maybe a portion. And skills I learned during my lifetime. Such as the mastery you had with that Dremora's hammer."

"So I have some of the skills that you had?" Tanz asked the spirit.

"Only when I'm in your mind. When I'm out here, no." The spirit said, "Now, hold out your palm."

Tanz did as instructed and held out his hand to the spirit. Bros walked over to Tanz and clasped his hand. As soon as he did, his body disappeared and a cold felling flooded into Tanz's mind.

"I'm never going to get used to that..." Tanz said and shivered. The spirit entering his mind felt like ice water being poured on his scale-covered head.

Tanz proceeded on through the timberland, watching for threats. After a few minutes he saw the tower's entrance. The doors looked oddly like the ones he had seen in the crypt, covered in glyphs and inscriptions that he didn't, and never, understand. But these doors were huge, the doors were half the size of a house.

Tanz pondered ways to get them open. Pushing it open obviously wasn't going to work there were ginormous and metal. They probably weighed a ton. Then Tanz got an idea. The force from his discharged barrier was enough to knock down a human maybe it was enough to push the doors open just enough to slip in. Tanz approached the door and brought up his barrier. He created one with his other hand and aimed it at the door. He made sure it was right against the surface and discharged the shield.

The doors moved a good amount but it wasn't enough for him to get in. "Wait a minute, Bros you said I inherit some of your powers when your in my head. Would that include increased strength?"

"Most likely, part of these trials are to test our skills and wit. But they also test our powers." Bros said.

"So that's a yes then?" Tanz said looking back at the doors.

"That's a no..." Bros said, "I hope I'm thinking what your thinking, because I wasn't a great climber. But powers have no affect here, remember? Not to worry my normal strength can be lent to you."

"If can discharge my barriers, and get a running start and slam into the door. It might give that extra push I need." Tanz thought outloud. Tanz backed up a few feet and ran at full speed at the door. This was where his speed came in handy. As a child living alone he had always made money by catching animals outside the city, but he had to do so with a dagger. Over the years he became faster. Tanz brought up the barriers, still sprinting, and neared closer to the doors.

Tanz discharged the barriers and rammed into the door with his shoulder. The doors parted and Tanz ran through. Tanz clutched his shoulder. It hurt, bad. He didn't think it would hurt so much but it did. Tanz cast his healing spell on his shoulder and his arm numbed. That would do for now, at least. Tanz looked around the towers entrance. It was just one large, unlit hallway. The only light coming in was from the light leaking from the cracks in the doors.

Tanz raised his hand and the small flame materialized in his palm. Tanz held the flame as a torch. And proceeded down the hall, the flame providing little light. Tanz advanced down until he met a stairwell leading up in a spiral, presumably to the top of the tower. Tanz walked up the stairs and after a few minutes he neared the top.

"Hear he comes!" A hushed voice said. Tanz paused, unsure what to do. If whoever was waiting for him were enemies, he'd have to expect an attack. But they weren't speaking in the dialect the demons were speaking, so they may not be Dremora. Tanz advanced up the stairs slowly and as soon as he saw light he jumped out and brought up his barrier, ready for an attack. Tanz instead saw a spirit and a rather large armored Dremora. The demon had a two maces slung over his back and a helmet covered his face from view. He had to be at least eight feet tall.

The spirit stood there looking at the Argonian, suppressing grins. "A mage? This will be interesting, won't it Delek?" One spirit said and turned to the imposing demon.

"Is this part of my trial?" Tanz asked the spirits.

"Yes, Delek here is part of your trial." The spirit smiled, "My name is Bredich. And who are you? And would you mind introducing your friend?"

"I'm Tanz..." Tanz said and looked around, "What did you mean by friend?"

The spirit tapped his forehead with his finger. "Up here."

"Oh, uh... Bros can you come out? I don't know how to... You know..." Tanz said, embarrassed.

"Certainly, and just say the words if you want me to come out." Bros said.

"Alright then." Tanz said.

"Right... Hello Bros, its been a while." He said.

"Bredich." He nodded politely.

"Alright so shall we continue with your trial?" Bredich said.

"Doesn't this seem a little to... formal?" Tanz asked.

Bros entered back into Tanz's mind and the spirit stepped to the side. The top of the tower was flat and had a stone columns rising a few more meters above the tower. The columns curved inward and a lamp hung from the the connected pillars. The demon stood there holding the two maces and stared at the Argonian. Tanz had the first move.

"Conduit, let me handle this. This is a test of brawn. With respect, something you don't have." Bros said.

"I'll ignore that jab for now, but how am I supposed to let you _handle_ this?" Tanz asked.

"Just let go I will handle the rest." Bros instructed.

"Okay, don't get me killed." Tanz said nervously.

Tanz relaxed his muscles and felt numb as the spirit took over his body. Without thinking he unsheathed his sword and paced around the Dremora. Tanz sat there, Bros completely controlling his body. Tanz lunged at the demon and swung his sword down upon the Dremora. The demon blocked and thrust the mace into his stomach which knocked him off his feet and sent flying. Tanz landed on the ground a feet away.

"Okay, that kind of hurt..." Tanz said angrily.

"Sorry, I'm a little rusty. I haven't fought much over the past two hundred years." Bros said.

"Two hundred years!?" Tanz asked, anger evident in his voice.

Tanz dashed to the right and sent a discharge at the demon which staggered him. He then slashed at the demon his sword slammed into his stomach and then hit him in the shoulder. The demon stood there, staring at the Argonian.

"Mavo mo predama..." The Dremora said.

"Bros, let me do this." Tanz instructed.

"Are you sure?" Bros asked.

"Yes." Tanz said.

Tanz felt the numbness recede and he had control of his body again. Tanz ran at the demon full speed. The demon swung his left mace at him, but Tanz ducked and rammed into the demon which knocked him over. Tanz raised his sword and brought it down on the demon. Delek blocked the attack with his gauntleted arms. He swiped his leg at Tanz. Tanz dropped to the ground and Delek tried to slam the mace on Tanz. Tanz rolled to the right and stood up. Tanz fired a shard at the demon but it shattered against his armor.

Tanz discharged his barrier repeatedly until Delek was at the edge of the tower. Tanz shot an electric current at the Dremora. His armor conducted the energy and he spasmed uncontrollably. Tanz sent a final discharge at Delek. He tripped and fell on his back. Tanz picked up Delek's mace and repeatedly slammed it against the Dremora's chest until he held up a hand.

"Sey gadoniq." Delek said, panting and clutching his chest.

"Well, its been a while since someone defeated Degrant though its been a while since we've had a Conduit to take the trials." Bredich said, "Well, proceed through the portal."

"Where will it take me?" Tanz asked as a blue portal appeared in the center of the tower.

"It will take you back to Nirn." Bredich said.

"So, my trials are over?" Tanz asked.

"Not quite, but we've kept you from Nirn for long enough." Bredich said with a smirk.

Tanz walked up to the portal and examined it. Tanz shrugged and stepped through the portal, hopefully on the other side was the mortal realm of Nirn.


	9. Fera

**Hello viewers! This is chapter 9 of Thaumaturge. JCA99 here bringing you the goods, once again. Not much else to say... Anyways without further ado, read on!**

**EDIT: found a weird thing while looking at this chapter, where it would separate words for no reason. I checked my file that I posted it from and it glitched up or something. Anyways fixed that and added a few things here and there. But I'm not sure if I fixed all of them though.**

Tanz woke up on his bed in the room he r ented in Whiterun. "Bros, you there?" He asked the spirit.

"Yes. Where are we?" Bros responded.

"Skyrim, were in an inn in Whiterun." Tanz said.

"Skyrim? My homeland. An, how I missed this land." Bros said.

"Your a Nord?"

"You never noticed? Yes I'm a Nord." Bros told the Argonian.

"Sorry I could never really see your fac e under your hood." Tanz said.

The door to his room opened and a guard walked in. "Ah, your finally awake. Do A rgonians normally sleep that long?" The guard said.

"How long did I sleep?" Tanz asked.

"Four days." The guard said.

"Four days!" the Argonian yelled.

"I'd keep your voice down. There are others people here." The guard warned Tanz with a scorn. "Anyways I was posted here to tell you that the Jarl wanted to see you the moment you wake up."

"Alright, what for?" Tanz asked the guard.

"He didn't say. Just get up there quickl y the Jarl does not like to be kept waiting." The guard said and walked out of t he room.

"What do you think he wants?" Tanz asked .

"I have no idea, did you do anything bef ore you came to Quagmire?" Bros said.

"Wait, the dragon, he probably wants to talk to me about that or something." Tanz guessed.

Tanz stood up and looked around for his sword and satchel and found they were al ready attached to his robes. He surmised he somehow had brought them with him to Quagmire. Tanz walked down the stairs a nd into the common room. The fire was st ill burning and many people were sitting around the fire talking and eating.

Tanz walked over to the innkeeper and bought a loaf of bread. He was hungry, but that's what not eating for four daysd id to you. Tanz scarfed down the bread and went to leave.

"Wait, are you going to pay for those ex tra days you stayed here?" The proprietress asked.

"Uh... fine..." He said and handed him a bag of coin. "That enough?"

She looked up hand him back a few coins and nodded. "Come again."

Tanz walked out the door and started thr ough the plains district. He walked by t he stalls but saw nothing of interest. T anz walked up the steps into the clouds district. A large tree sat with a large circular trellis with vines crawling ove r its surface. A small bridge led him ov er a river running through the city. To the left were a few houses. But to the r ight were a flight of steps, at the top, a huge building.

Tanz sat there looking at the building, along its length were multiple shields. The roof was worn and tattered but the b uilding was amazing overall. Tanz contin ued on up the steps to Dragonsreach. He arrived at the top and entered through t he doors. Dragonsreach was huge, or at l east on the inside. The palace was decei vingly large for how it looked from the outside.

Tanz walked through the building to the Jarl's throne. Balgruuf sat on his thron e, talking to his advisor. He smiled whe n he saw the mage approach.

"Ah, my dragon slayer. So you've finally woken back up. I wanted to honor you on your accomplishment last night, but I had to fortify the city's defenses. We now have archers and two hired mages posted on the roof of Dragonsreach and the guard towers. I want to see one of those nightmares coming. But onto business."

"Tanz..." The Nord waited. "Your name?"

Tanz stood there, unsure what to do. He didn't know his last name. He only remembered his first name. Tanz had read a bo ok once with an Argonian named Milosm... What was it? Heedel? Huleed? Huleed, that was it. Tanz decided then and there, his name was now Tanz Huleed. From what Tanz knew about his race, Argonian have either one name, two words hyphenated, or a name that describes something about the Argonian, such as Climbs Trees Often. But Tanz had never embraced his Argonian heritage.

For one, Tanz worshipped Akatosh, due to there being a shrine ode dictated to Akatosh in Kresval. Argonians worshiped the Hist, which he hadn't the foggiest idea of what that was. He looked up at the Jarl and his aid. They were staring at him.

"Tanz Huleed." Tanz said.

"Tanz Huleed, do you accept the honor of thaneship? To protect Whiterun's citizens, to answer Whiterun's call when needed, and to defend Whiterun and her citizens?"

"Yes." Tanz said. He had no idea what a thane was but he assumed it was title awarded to people who have helped the city in some way. At least that's what he hoped.

"Tanz Huleed, I name you Thane of Whiterun." Balgruuf said.

"Its an honor." Tanz said with a slight, awkward bow.

"The guards that you fought with said you were a mage, is that correct?" Balgruuf asked. Tanz nodded to the Jarl. "Good, I'd like to give you a tome, courtesy of my court wizard. I'd also like to give you large sum of septims for your work." Proventus handed Tanz a tome and a lar ge bag of coin, Tanz shoved the tome in his satchel. He looked in the bag and hi s eyes widened. There had to be over a t housand septims in the bag. He stuffed the coin in his satchel and a little while later he left Whiterun. Tanz was now in the stables, buying some supplies from a Khajit merchant.

"What food do you have?" Tanz asked. "I' m stocking up for a trip and could use more food for the journey."

"Ri'saad has little food to spare but I do have a few things." The Khajit said and grabbed a bag from his tent. He layed the items out. There were a few loaves of bread, some carrots, apples, and two small bottles.

"What's in the bottles?" He said an pick ed up the container. He shook it lightly and the liquid sloshed around.

"Water, and the other is filled with ale ." The Khajit said.

"How much for all of it?" Tanz asked.

"Thirty septims." The Khajit said.

"Alright." Tanz said and tossed a bag of coin in the Khajit's lap. He collected the food and put them in his satchel. He thanked the Khajit and left the camp.

"A pleasure, do come again." The Khajit called after him.

"Khajit are allowed in Skyrim now? Interesting how things have changed." Bros said.

"Khajit weren't allowed in Skyrim when you were alive?" Tanz asked.

"No, during my time there was tension between the Nords and the beast races." Bros answered.

Tanz planned to get his clothes washed today, as he used to do in the lake outside of Kresval. Seeing as he had slept in them for four days and had gone through hell and back, he though it would be best to wash his clothes. He walked to Riverwood and headed through the town to lake Ilinalta. When he reached the lake he removed his robe revealing his torn shirt and r agged pants. He washed the robe in the lake water and set it out on a rock to dr y. He pulled the tomes out of his satchel and read through the one Balgruuf had given him. It was a fire spell, it was more powerful than the one he knew. He stood in his casting stance in a small flame appeared in his hand the flame was the same size but it was as if the flame was more... Intense.

Tanz charged the spell and cast a ball of fire from his palm and it flew into the water. Tanz stood there for a moment before casting the spell again at a boulder. Another ball of fire zoomed at the b oulder and collided with its surface. Th e ball hit the boulder and on impact, created a small explosion. It left a smoldering hole on the boulder's surface.

Satisfied with the effects of the spell, Tanz moved on to the "Atronach" spell he had received from Lucan. He had read through it multiple times, he read through it one last time, Tanz specialized in destruction magic. This spell was a conjuration spell, it summoned a flame "atronach ", whatever that was. Tanz looked at his palm and a ball that looked oddly like the portal from Quagmire appeared in his hand. The ball was black and purple, a swirling ball of dark magic.

Tanz charged the spell and launched it at the ground, and a vortex opened. A figure passed through the portal and onto the grass. The figure wasn't man or mer, however. The shape looked like a woman but instead of flesh, fire and molten rock took its place. The atronach hovered a few feet off the ground and it stared at Tanz, well ... it didn't have any eyes but if it did it would be.

"Uh... Hello..." Tanz said awkwardly, there was a chance it wouldn't understand him. The atronach spun in a circle and launched a bolt of fire at the something behind Tanz. A rabbit jumped out from a bush an d ran away. The atronach fired another bolt at the rabbit. Tanz grabbed the atronach's arm.

"It's just a-" Tanz started to speak when his hand burned on the atronach's arm. He shrieked and ran to the lake. He dipped his arm in the water and immediately felt The intense heat fade away. He lifted his arm out of the water, and steam rose from his hand in wisps.

The atronach continued to launch firebolts at the rabbit. "Stop... Fera!" Tanz screamed in anger. The atronach stopped and turne d to the mage. Tanz stood there, confused. Why had he called her Fera? He just tried to say something and the name came out. He thought about the name for a moment and looked back at the atronach. She stood there, waiting for a command from the Argonian.

"Fera?" Tanz said. The atronach moved forward slightly and hovered there. Tanz pointed to his right. "Fera... Go?" The atronach tilted its head in confusion and slowly hovered to his right. "Fera, follow?" The atronach moved towards Tanz and stopped in front of him. Tanz pointed at the lake. "Fera, Attack?" The atronach launched multiple firebolts at the water. Th e firebolts impacted into the water and massive steam clouds rose from the water . The atronach launched more firebolts a t the lake. "Stop!" He commanded. The atronach kept firing bolts "Fera!" The atronach stopped and looked up at the mage expectantly. "Fera... I like the sound of that."

"I do too." Bros said.

"Alright, Fera it is." Tanz said. The atronach somersaulted in the air.

Tanz put back on his now clean robes and ate one of the carrots he had bought ea rlier. Fera hovered gracefully over the ground looking out over the lake. The sun was going down and its light reflected over the water. Tanz had just laid back when Fera disappeared into a portal. Tanz had expected this, the spell only summoned atronachs for a short time. Tanz watched the sunset for a while before leaving for Riverwood a few minutes later.

By the time Tanz arrived at Riverwood, the sun had gone down and the people had returned to their homes. Tanz looked around for the inn. After a few minutes, Tanz saw sign on a building that said Sleeping Giant inn. Tanz walked through the door and entered the inn.

The inn was different than the one in Whiterun, there was a large open fire in the center of the room like in the Bannered Mare. But it was much larger and the walls weren't colored. The inn had few inhabitants. There was a drunk Nord sitting on a bench, trying not to fall off due to his intoxication. Another was a bard, the son of the elderly women that had seen the dragon. A few other people sat on the benches, eating their meals and drinking.

Tanz walked up to the one who he thought was the innkeeper, since he was behind the counter counting septims.

"Hello, how much for a room?" The mage a sked.

"Ten septims." The Nord said without looking up from the gold. Tanz placed the coins on the table and the Nord added them to the pile. "It's the room to your left, right over there." The innkeeper said and pointed at one of the rooms.

"Thanks." Tanz said an headed into the room. Tanz sat down on the bed. "Please tell me I'm not going to Quagmire tonight ." Tanz asked the spirit.

"No, I've received no news from Vaermina regarding your trials." Bros said.

"Why have you been so quiet?" Tanz asked .

"No particular reason, its been a long time since I've been to this plane. I'm just taking it all in. After two hundred years, I'm back on Nirn, in my homeland. " Bros said wistfully.

"Say, how did you die?" Tanz asked.

"Eh, I was killed defending a town from an Oblivion gate. Two hundred years ago portals to Oblivion started popping up all over Cydrodill. I took it upon myself to defend the towns and drive back the Daedra that the gates let into the land. I was defeated by a hord of Daedra while defending a town." Bros explained.

"What happened to the town?" Tanz asked.

"The citizens were evacuated, but the town was destroyed" Bros answered.

Tanz turned over on his side and started to doze off when a question popped into his head. "Do you sleep?" Tanz asked.

"No." The spirit said nonchalantly.

"So, you're just going to be awake... doing whatever... inside my head...?" Tanz said.

"Uh, yes." Bros said.

"Okay then..." Tanz said and fell asleep a few minutes later. He had a long trek to undergo tomorrow, and this stretch would take him to the one place he had been warned to stay away from...


	10. The Home Stretch

**Hello everyone this is the latest installement of Thuamaturge. This is the last leg of the journey for our hero until he reaches the College of Winterhold! Anyways, not much to say about this chapter except... *dramatic pause* Read on!**

Tanz woke up in his room at the inn. He got out of bed and gathered his things. He would be leaving for Windhelm soon. "Morning." Tanz said rubbing his eyes.

"Sleep well?" His guide asked.

"Well enough." Tanz said.

Tanz walked out of his room and up to the innkeeper. He purchased a map off Skyrim from the Nord. He had planned out his route to Whiterun but from there on he hasn't been entirely sure of the route to Winterhold. Tanz bought breakfast and sat down at a table and started to eat.

"So, what did you do while I was asleep?" Tanz whispered.

"Nothing really, I communicated with Sadean about your trials. You will remain a Conduit, and you will keep your powers until your trial is over." Bros said.

"My trials aren't over! I just want to forget about this Conduit business!" Tanz said louder than he expected which earned a glance from a man sitting at another table. His eyes widened and he turned back to his meal.

"You think he heard?" Tanz asked.

"I hope not, for your sake. Many people hate the Conduits for connecting Vaermina to Nirn. Some enough to kill them." Bros said.

Tanz finished his food and walked out of the inn. Tanz left Riverwood and headed along the road. The trail that lead to Whiterun turned to the left, but the way he was going turned to the right. Tanz walked along the trail over the bridge and onto the hill leading down an incline. Tanz walked along the trail, in the distance he saw Whiterun and the stables. Tanz kept walking for a few minutes, talking with Bros and sharing stories.

After walking for about a half hour along the White River he saw two towers connected by a stone bridge hanging over the river. Tanz approached the tower on his side of the river. Tanz saw a Nord sitting on a stool next to crockpot. He stood up when he saw the mage coming.

"Hold it. This here's a toll road, see? You're gonna have to hand over, say, two hundred gold if you want to use this road." The Nord said.

"Who do you work for? Jarl Balgruuf?" Tanz asked.

"Uh... Yeah, the Jarl." The Nord said.

Tanz looked at the Nord with a grin. "You're not in uniform, Highwaymen."

The Nord unsheathed his sword and charged at the mage. "Eh, it'll be easier to rob you when your dead!" The Nord yelled.

Tanz shot a firebolt at the bandit and it collided into his chest. The man shrieked as his fur armor caught fire and he flailed around in a futile attempt to extinguish the flames. Tanz sent an electric current at the man and he screamed in pain as the electricity ran through his nervous system. The highwaymen collapsed into the mud and died. Tanz walked into the tower cautiously. To his right was a chest. Tanz walked over to the trunk and flipped open the lid.

Inside was as small bag of coin and a scroll. Tanz shoved the coin in his satchel and examined the scroll, it was a destruction spell of some sort. When read, the user would be able to cast the spell written on the parchment. Tanz put the scroll in his satchel and closed the trunk. Tanz proceeded through the tower, up the stairs. He looked on at the tower and saw a bandit walking over to his side of the river. Tanz aimed at the man and waited for a clear shot. Tanz fired a salvo of shards at the man and they connected with his chest guard and shattered.

The man toppled off the bridge and into the raging waters below. The river carried him downstream to a waterfall. He struggled against the current but fell off the peak, screaming the whole way down. The rest of the bandits would hear that for sure. He saw two bandits, an Imperial and a Dunmer, looking around in search of the scream's source. Tanz moved along the tower and over to the bridge. He pulled the scroll from his satchel and read the inscription. The paper burned as e read it and the elf turned and pointed at the mage.

Tanz finished reading the scroll and it burned into nothing. He looked up at the two approaching bandits and his casting hand lit up in a flame. Tanz cast the spell at the two and a fireball, similar to his firebolt spell, launched from his hand at the two and exploded in a huge eruption of fire and heat. The stone bridge blew to pieces along with the two highwaymen.

"What the-" someone said. Tanz turned around and saw a Redguard standing in a doorway with a befuddled look on her face. She had on a full suit of armor and clutched at an iron sword.

Tanz unsheathed his sword and blocked an attack from the Redguard's sword with his barrier. Tanz discharged the barrier and the Redguard stumbled backwards. Tanz summoned Fera and the atronach appeared. Fera launched multiple firebolts at the Redguard. Her armor absorbed the attack but the attack's force staggered the bandit. Tanz charged at the Redguard and lunged at her with his sword. She swatted the attack away and another firebolt collided with the Redguard's armor. Tanz rammed his sword through her chest plate and a trickle of blood rolled down from her lip to her chin.

Tanz yanked the sword out the bandit's chest and shoved the Redguard into the doorway. She fell onto her back and a small pool of blood formed around her body. Tanz stepped over the body and looked around the room. There was a table with a few unwashed plates and silverware on its surface. There were a few barrels of water and mead in the corner and a crate. Tanz moved on, seeing nothing of particular interest. Fera was still standing there, waiting for a command from her user.

Tanz climbed down the tower until he reached a the lower level. Fera followed him along until she bumped into a wooden barrel. The barrel lit up in flames and tipped over onto the wooden floor. Tanz glared at Fera and ran out of the tower as the tower burned, Fera following close behind. Tanz stopped when he was a safe distance from the bunting tower. He glared at Fera. "Your going to cause me a lot of trouble one day, aren't you?"

Tanz proceeded onto Windhelm and a few minutes later Fera disappeared back to the plains of oblivion. Tanz had walked for a few hours talking with Bros and sharing stories like they had done earlier. Tanz learned about being a Conduit, other powers that past Conduits had, and the names of some present Conduits. He had walked along the road for a while and caught sight of what he assumed was Windhelm. A heavy blanket of snow had set in as he traveled north towards the city.

Tanz entered the stables and immediately felt unwelcomed. A few guards glared at him with contempt. Tanz walked through the stables and across the bridge that led to the city gates. Tanz walked up to the gate when a guard stopped him.

"Stop! Argonians aren't allowed inside the city." The guard stated.

"Argonians can't enter the city? Why not?" Tanz asked.

"I just enforce the rules." The guard said. "I don't make them."

"Well, where am I supposed to stay?" Tanz asked noting the sunset.

"Theres an assemblage for Argonians by the docks." The guard said.

"You make Argonians stay at the docks?" Tanz said and the guard nodded, which caused Tanz to groan. "Fine, where's the assemblage."

"Follow me." The Nord said.

Tanz followed the Nord and after a few minutes of walking he stood outside the assemblage. "So, I can stay here tonight?" Tanz asked.

"Yes, but if I catch you in the city, I'll-" The guard started.

"Ya, ya, I get it." Tanz said, waving the guard off. Tanz approached the door and knocked gently.

"Hello?" A voice asked.

"Uh, Hello, I need a place to stay and they won't let me into the city." Tanz said.

The door opened, revealing a tall Argonian. He wore an orange shirt torn pants and dark brown boots. Five horns sat atop his head. "Oh, hello marsh-friend. I'm Neetrenaza." The Argonian said.

"Hello, Neetrenaza. I'm Tanz." Tanz said.

"Nice to meet you." Neetrenaza turned and ushered the mage inside. Inside we're two more Argonians. One, a male, sat on a bed. He had blue feathers on his head along with two curved horns. He wore a brown shirt and some ragged boots. The other was a female. She wore a long grey dress and had four horns on her head. They both turned to the mage in unison.

"Who's this?" The female asked, her voice raspy.

"Tanz this is Shahvee and Scouts-Many-Marshes." Neetrenaza said and gestured to the two Argonians.

"Greetings marsh-friend." Scouts-Many-Marshes said.

"There's usually another one with us but he's out working on one of the ships." Neetrenaza said.

"So, the guards make you live here?" Tanz asked.

"Yes, but its not all bad. We have work and place to stay." Shahvee said enthusiastically.

"This doesn't really seem like a place I'd want to stay." Tanz said. As a child he had low standards since he was an orphan, but even he wouldn't want to stay here. The assemblage was dank and had little lighting. It didn't exactly smell but considering how cold and dry it was outside, it was almost humid.

"You could have this bed here." Neetrenaza said and gestured to a bed in the corner. Tanz walked over to the bed and set his satchel down under put it under the bed and unclipped the sheathe from his robe. He sat down on the bed.

"I can't believe the Jarl would keep the beast races out of the city in this place." Bros said.

"It's ridiculous." Tanz muttered.

"Did you say something?" Shahvee asked.

"Uh... no." Tanz said. Shahvee looked at him in confusion. "Uh, oh. Must be more skeevers." She grumbled.

"Skeevers?" Tanz asked.

"Yeah, we had a small infestation a while ago." Scouts-Many-Marshes said.

"Oh... lovely..." Tanz groaned. Tanz laid down on his side and closed his eyes. He hoped to arrive at the college tomorrow. Tomorrow his journey would come to an end and his life at the college would begin. This was something he'd wanted as far back as he could remember. He wasn't even there yet and he felt oddly nervous. He hoped he was at least qualified to enter the college. Tanz suppressed his excitement and fell asleep a few minutes later.

Tanz woke up in the morning to a strange scratching noise. He sat up and looked around for the source of the noise. The noise was coming from near the door. He stood up and walked over to the door. All the other Argonians were gone, presumably working. As he got close the scratching stopped, he took a few more steps forward and saw a skeever at the door, the rat was staring at the mage with its beady red eyes. Tanz scrambled away in fear and surprise.

"AHH!" Tanz screamed.

"It's just a skeever. Are you telling me your afraid of skeevers?" Bros said.

"N-No... They just... Fine they scare me..." He muttered quietly. Bros started laughing uncontrollably. "Okay, your laughing kind of hurts my head." He grumbled.

"I can't believe your afraid of skeevers." Bros said suppressing laughs.

"Well, I am, okay." Tanz said. Tanz walked over to the door and opened it. The skeever walked toward the door slowly and then ran out the door in a flash. "BAH!" Tanz said and fell onto his back. His head filled with Bros' laughter once more.

Tanz gathered his gear and headed out of the assemblage. This was it, the last stretch before he arrived at the college. Tanz felt nervous like he had last night. The mage looked around for one of the Argonians and saw Neetrenaza loading crates onto a boat. Tanz walked onto the boat and Neetrenaza set the crate down.

"Ah, your leaving?" The dock worker asked.

"Yes. Uh, here." Tanz said and handed him a bag of coin. "Use it to get rid of the skeevers."

"Thank you marsh-friend." Neetrenaza said and nodded. "I wish you well on your travels... Wait, you never actually told me where you were going." The Argonian said.

"The College of Winterhold." Tanz said.

"Oh, well be careful. The trek there won't be easy. There's going to be a blizzard soon." Neetrenaza replied. "Don't freeze to death out there."

"Thanks." Tanz said. He left Windhelm and set out for Winterhold. He had to arrive there before the blizzard started. He walked along the path and the amount of snow tripled after a few minutes. He had walked for about an hour when the winds picked up and the snowfall increased. The blizzard was starting. Tanz surmised he was about halfway there when he saw a figure on a ridge higher up. He ignored it at first, thinking it was a trick of the light or something of the sort.

But he saw the figure again. The figure pulled a crossbow from their back and fired a bolt at the mage. Tanz dropped to the ground and the bolt whizzed by. The figure faded from sight once again. Who could this be? A bandit? A thief? Tanz readied his ice shard spell. It traveled the farthest and would be hard to see coming in this blizzard. He crouched and advanced forward. The figure popped back up and fired another bolt at Tanz. Tanz brought the barrier up and the projectile bounced off the shield.

"Who is this guy?" Tanz said and another bolt whizzed by. Tanz fired a round of ice shards at the attacker, the shards missed.

"He's alone it seems, so that rules out bandits. He could be a thief, but I doubt a thief would just attack someone, thieves generally try not to kill their victims. Conduit, watch yourself. I have a feeling this man may be more skilled than he seems." Bros said.

"What do you mean more skilled?" Tanz asked.

"I think he was hired. I think he's an assassin." Bros said grimly.

"Why would someone want me dead?" Tanz said blocking another bolt and firing another shard. Then it hit him. "That man from Riverwood. He wants me dead because I'm a Conduit." The mage realized.

"Possibly." Bros surmised. "I wouldn't be surprised if someone wanted a Conduit dead."

"We'll this assassin is gonna get more than he bargained for." Tanz said angrily. Tanz dropped his barrier and charged. He fired multiple shards from both hands as he ran. The bombardment of ice was more than enough to keep the assassin behind cover. Tanz ran passed the man's position and sprinted for the town. He wouldn't stop running until he got there. As he got a few feet away a horse ran down a slope with the assassin on its back. He hopped down and pulled a dagger from his belt.

Tanz stood his ground but noticed something about the assassin. It wasn't a man. The assassin's figure suggested a female. She charged at the mage and lunged at the Tanz with her dagger. She was an Imperial, he noticed, but he couldn't see anything under her shroud. He blocked with the barrier and then discharged, sending the assassin tumbling through the snow. He fired a shard into her horse's leg and ran full speed toward Winterhold.

He had got a good distance away when he felt a searing pain in he left shoulder. He clutched at his shoulder and felt a bolt in his shoulder. Tanz didn't slow down and kept running as fast as he could to the town. After a few minutes he saw the town. He would be so happy if he hadn't been in excruciating pain. All the citizens of Winterhold were inside, seeking shelter from the blizzard. Tanz ran over behind a building and sat down. He checked for the assassin but didn't see anyone.

Tanz yanked the bolt from his shoulder and suppressed a scream. He brought his right hand over the injury and a golden light emanated from his hands as he sealed the wound with a healing spell. He felt blood soak into his robe but after a few seconds the wound was sealed. Tanz felt comfort by the fact he had escaped, he was safe for now. His eyes became heavy as the adrenaline wore off and the blood lose took effect. The running had circulated a lot of blood through his system and the wound left a large opening for his blood to drain from his body.

"Tanz, Tanz stay awake." His spirit instructed.

Tanz fought the drowsiness as long as he could but in the end he passed out from the blood loss. The last thing he saw before he passed out was the college's stone gates...


	11. Introductions

** Hello viewers! What's up...? You can't answer that... So, this is the latest installment of Thaumaturge. In this chapter our hero finally reaches his destination, and meets some of his fellow apprentices. Well, I hope you like this chapter. Read on!**

Tanz woke up and felt cold, which was good, that meant he was alive. The blizzard was over, and nobody had noticed him. He stood up, his shoulder was sore, but he would be fine. Tanz peeked around the corner and saw a few people walking about the town. Tanz walked out from behind the building and looked up at the college's gates. The gate was massive. It looked to be completely made of stone and had a walkway leading up to a large arch. Under the arch was a High Elf who didn't look to happy to be standing out there in the snow.

"Bros you there?" Tanz asked.

"Yes. Today's the day, hmm? Your finally joining the college?" Bros asked.

"Today's the day. I've been waiting years for this!" Tanz said excitedly. The mage walked up the stone walkway and approached the Elf. She had her orange hair in pigtails and a green tunic.

"Cross the bridge at your own peril! The way is dangerous, and the gate will not open. You shall not gain entry!" The Elf said.

"This is the College of Winterhold, right?" Tanz asked.

"Yes, this is the College of Winterhold. A safe haven for mages in Skyrim. A place of wisdom and arcane knowledge." She said.

"May I enter?" Tanz asked.

"Perhaps, but what do you expect to find within?" The Elf asked.

"I want to study and master magic. I want to become a powerful mage and learn to wield fire, ice, and lightning." Tanz said.

"It seems the college has what you seek. But what do you have to offer the college?"

"Offer..." Tanz thought. He didn't expect them to ask something like that.

"Conduit, show her your barrier spell." Bros said.

Tanz turned away. "What my ward?" Tanz asked.

"No, your shield." Bros insructed.

Tanz turned back to the Elf. "Uh, watch this." Tanz said. He looked up and saw an icicle hanging from the archway. Perfect. Tanz fired a shard at the icicle and the ice spear fell down towards Tanz. Tanz brought up his barrier and the icicle shattered on the magical wall.

The Elf crossed her arms. "Was that a ward?" She asked.

"I don't know, I just used it one day. It blocks physical attacks instead of magical attacks." Tanz said.

"Hmm, you just used the spell one day?" She asked.

"Yeah." Tanz said.

"Well, you have the ability to use magic. Alright you may enter. Follow me." She said. Tanz did as instructed and followed the Elf along the snow covered bridge. As they walked the Elf cast an unknown spell into a pools of magicka. Once they had reached the gate, the Elf turned to him. "Talk to Mirabelle Ervine about enrollment. Last I saw her she was in the courtyard." She said.

"How will I know when I see her?"

"She's a Breton, shorter than you, brown hair." The she-Elf said and walked back toward the gate.

Tanz walked towards the door and the halves parted. Tanz walked into the courtyard and saw a Breton arguing with another High Elf.

"You may be used to the Empire bowing to your every whim, but the Thalmor will receive no such treatment here. You are a guest at the college, here at the pleasure of the Arch-Mage. I hope you appreciate the opportunity." Mirabelle said with a scowl.

"Yes, of course." The Elf said.

"Good, then were done here." The Breton said, she turned to the Argonian to follow him.

"I was told to come see you about enrollment." Tanz said.

"Enrollment? Well, there isn't anything to do for enrollment except give you a room." She said, "I'm surprised by how many people have come to enroll lately. I trust Faralda tested you on your abilities before she let you in?" Mirabelle asked.

"Yes." Tanz replied. He looked around the courtyard. The courtyard made up a large part of the college. There was a large tower rising up into the sky. Along its height was a thin window, and above that was another large stained glass window. On the window was the college's emblem, an eye with five points jutting outward.

"Alright then," Mirabelle started, leading Tanz toward the tower. "On the first floor is the Hall of Elements. Above that is the Arcaneum, and above that are various classrooms and such. Finally, at the top is the Arch Mage's quarters. Which is off limits unless permitted."

"What's the Arcaneum?" The Argonian asked.

"The Arcaneum is a large library, one of the biggest in Skyrim." Mirabelle answered. She then lead him to a door to the right of the college's entrance. "This is the Hall of Attainment, one of the six apprentice quarters. There is the Hall of Attainment, the Hall of Countenance, the Hall of Apprehension, the Hall of Endeavor, the Hall of Prudence, and the Hall of Diablerie."

"You said earlier that there was a lot of enrollment lately. How many people are enrolled here?"

"About forty to fifty students. Someone actually enrolled just a few days ago." Mirabelle said. Tanz followed her into the Hall of Attainment and saw the same pools of magicka that were located around the college. There were six door ways leading into bedrooms each with the same furniture, which included a bed, chair, nightstand, wardrobe, and shelf. On the other side of the room was a staircase. She led him into an empty room. "Here are your quarters. You'll be sharing a space with your fellow apprentices, who you'll be meeting shortly. Go find Tolfdir, the restoration teacher, I believe he was giving a lecture to some of the apprentices in the Hall of Elements."

"Thanks." Tanz said. She walked out of the dorm room. Tanz looked around his new room. This was going to be his room for a long time. He set down his sword in the wardrobe and set his satchel on the nightstand. The room had no doors so there wasn't very much privacy. The other rooms were similar to his, with little differences from his own. He heard an odd squeaking noise but he ignored it. Tanz walked out of the hall and into the courtyard. The snow was falling hard but the colleges towering walls blocked the wind and whirling snow creating a eye-of-the-hurricane effect.

He walked across the courtyard, feeling unbridled joy, He was here, finally. This was were he had always wanted to be, somewhere he could study and learn more about magic. He observed the statue in the middle of the courtyard. A hooded man's hands were raised as if calling upon the beam of light emanating from the magicka well. He walked past a snowberry bush and pushed open the doors.

"Oh come on, we've all proven we can wield magic. I can shoot fire from my hands!" Someone said angrily, followed by similar comments.

"Calm down, everyone. Magic is not about burning, freezing, or electrocuting things. You have to learn true mastery of magic, and how to wield safely. If you are not careful, magic can and will destroy you." Someone else said. Tanz walked into the hall and saw a group of apprentices and a elderly Nord.

"But you have no idea what were capable of. Let us try something." One of them pleaded. Tanz walked up to the left of the group. The elder looked over at the Argonian.

"Ah, come in, come in. We were just getting... started..." He said. Tanz looked over the group he saw Elves, Bretons, Imperials, and surprisingly a Nord. From what he had heard, Nords thought magic was weak. He saw a few Argonians too, good, he wasn't the only Argonian here. Tanz walked over to group and the apprentices resumed there arguments.

"Let us do something!" One yelled. The apprentices yelled more comments for a few more minutes and the teacher didn't look like he was going to change his mind. He looked back at Tanz.

"You," he gestured to Tanz. "You've been quiet so far, what do you think we should do?" He asked. Tanz looked around, the group of at least fifteen were all staring at him.

"Say something boy." Bros said quickly.

"Uh... I think we should try something practical." He said nervously.

"See even he agrees with us!" A female said. The elder sighed and nodded, accepting defeat.

"Alright then, but in our theme of safety we will be practicing wards." Tolfdir said. He pointed at Tanz. "Would you mind helping? Do you know how to use wards?"

"I've used wards before." Tanz shrugged and walked to the front.

"Alright stand over there," he gestured. "Cast a ward and keep it up."

Tanz stood where directed and cast a ward with both hands. Tolfdir charged a fire spell and launched a firebolt at the shield. The flames spread out along the width of the ward and dissipated.

"Good!" Tolfdir said with a grin. Some of the apprentices stood around with unimpressed looks and others with the opposite. "Now, I want everyone to practice wards. That will be enough for today. Have a good rest of your day, study hard." He said. The apprentices started walking out of the Hall. Tanz walked outside and noticed the sun setting. That must have been the last lecture of the day. An Imperial looked over his shoulder and noticed Tanz. He turned back and walked over to the Argonian.

"Your that new apprentice, right?" He said, "Trebon Varro."

"Tanz... Huleed." Tanz said. He'd have to remember his new last name.

"You Argonians have some weird names. Has anyone ever told you that?" He joked, "Where's your room?"

"In the Hall of Attainment." Tanz said.

"Same as me. I feel kind of bad for you though." He said.

"Why?" Tanz asked.

"You have to deal with J'zargo." Trebon said, angered by the thought.

"Who's J'zargo?" Tanz asked.

"A Khajit, he's really competitive and arrogant. He's the only Khajit here though." The Imperial said. "Thanks the Nine for that."

"A Khajit mage? Weird. Anyone else I need to worry about." Tanz asked.

"Not really, except for Cania. She's just... not right." He said.

"Cania?" Tanz asked.

"Newest apprentice before you. She's just... strange... She actually arrived a few days before you." Trebon said. They continued into the Hall of Attainment and saw a female Dunmer arguing with a male Khajit.

"J'zargo, you can't just steal Onmund's things!" The Dunmer said angrily.

"Why not? If Onmund wants to leave this in his nightstand he shouldn't get mad if someone takes it!" J'zargo said and held up an amulet.

"J'zargo, what makes you think that stealing Onmund's stuff is any different than stealing my things!" Trebon yelled.

"That was different..." The feline started but stopped when he noticed Tanz. "Who's this?"

"This is Tanz, the new apprentice. He was the guy that helped Tolfdir with the demonstration." Trebon said.

"Oh, hello." The Dunmer said.

"Yes, yes, hello." The feline said and rolled his eyes.

"Who's Onmund?" Tanz asked. The Dunmer swiped the amulet from J'zargo's hand a chuckled. She walked into another room and placed it on the dresser.

"No fair." The Khajit whined and his ears flattened. The Elf chuckled and walked over to the Argonian.

"Onmund's another apprentice, his room is over there." She said and pointed to the room that she had put the amulet in. "He's the only Nord apprentice in the whole college. I'm Brelyna by the way."

"Tanz Huleed." Tanz said. Good he remembered this time.

"I'd hide your stuff," Trebon said. "Because J'ZARGO cant leave people's stuff ALONE!" He yelled as he charged at the cat that was now in his room. "I told you to stay out of my room you stupid cat!" The feline ran up the stairs and the Imperial followed after.

"Do they always fight?" Tanz asked.

"Not always, but you really should hide your stuff... just a suggestion." Brelyna said. "And J'zargo also talks in the third person most of the time, but you get used to it."

"J'zargo is sorry... There is no need to get- AH!" Tanz heard the feline scream from upstairs.

"I don't like Khajits by the way..." Bros muttered.

"Uh... So where's Onmund?" Tanz asked.

"Probably talking to one of the teachers. He had trouble with his conjurations today." She said. Tanz swore he heard a crash from upstairs. They both stood there looking in the direction of the noise. Another flurry of crashes and bangs resonated throughout the dorm.

"HEY!" Someone yelled.

"Umm... I should go see what's going on. J'zargo has been getting on Trebon's nerves and I think he finally snapped." The she-elf said as she started up the stairs. "You should probably get some sleep. Our first class in the morning is with Drevis at eight." Tanz heard another crash. She rolled her eyes and ran up the stairs.

Tanz shrugged and walked into his room. He sat down on the bed and removed his guantlets and boots. He put the guantlets on his dresser and shoved his boots under his bed. Tanz removed his hood revealing dark red leaves and two horns jutting out from his head. Tanz looked at his satchel that was sitting on his nightstand. He grabbed it and set it on top of the wardrobe. He let out a satisfied sigh and sat down on the bed.

"I'm finally here!" He said with a grin.

"That you are." The spirit said. "And don't worry, you won't be going to Quagmire for a while."

"Good. I just want to focus on my classes." Tanz said. The Argonian laid down on the bed and closed his eyes. He heard another crash and some shouting. But soon the fighting stopped and the other three apprentices walked downstairs and settled into their beds. Tanz heard the strange squeaking noise again but he didn't care, he was finally here, in the place where he belonged. His mind drifted off and he fell asleep.


	12. First day

**Hey viewers. This is the 12 chapter of Thaumaturge! Nothing to say really. Read on and enjoy.**

Trebon stood outside of Tanz's room watching the Argonian toss and turn in a deep sleep. Four of the apprentices were awake and preparing for their classes.

"He's still asleep?" He heard someone ask. He turned toward the voice. A Nord walked out of his room toward the Imperial and crossed his arms.

"Yeah," the Imperial said. "I guess he's not used to getting up early."

"Well, he better get up soon. Our first class is in thirty minutes." The Nord said.

"Did you sort out that problem with Phinis?" Trebon asked.

"Nope, still can't conjure a familiar." The Nord said.

"The lizard is still not up yet?" A feline voice asked with a yawn. Trebon scowled at him.

"I'm still not talking to you." He said angrily.

"Yeah, he is." The young Nord said. "By the way I heard you tried to steal my amulet." He said accusingly.

"Uh... yes. J'zargo is sorry about that." The cat apologized.

"Sure..." He grumbled. Brelyna walked out of her room with tired eyes.

"Don't start fighting this early in the morning, please." She whined, rubbing sleep out of the corner of her eyes.

"Fine." The three said in unison.

The Imperial walked into Tanz's room and nudged him. "What are you doing?" Brelyna asked.

"Trying to wake him up. We have to go to class in thirty minutes." The Imperial said.

"Okay, then..." Brelyna said and she walked over to Tanz's unconsious body. The two shook the Argonian and his eyes opened.

"Huh..." Tanz said half-asleep. The apprentice looked up at the two. "What's going..." He said as he fell back down onto his pillow.

"No, come on. We have class in a half an hour and it'd be a good idea to not make a bad first impression." Trebon said as he and Brelyna lifted him back up. Tanz groaned and stood up.

The Argonian put on his iron boots. Tanz looked himself over and shrugged. "Umm, ready."

"Aren't you going to change into your new robes?" The Nord asked.

"What robes?" Tanz asked.

"Didn't Mirabelle give you your standard robes?" The Trebon asked.

"No." Tanz answered. "Who's this?" Tanz gestured to the Nord.

"I'm Onmund." The Nord said.

"Anyways, you should go talk to Mirabelle before class starts." Brelyna suggested.

"Alright," Tanz said. "Where is she?" The Argonian asked. He noticed J'zargo looking around his room. Tanz gave him a warning look and the feline raised his hands defensively. He looked over toward Onmund to see a similar reaction. The Khajit's ears flattened and he stalked off into his room. The apprentices walked back to their rooms to prepare for their classes.

"Her room is in the Hall of Countenance across from here." Trebon said. "By the way our first class is with Tolfdir. He said he had something 'exciting' planned today."

Tanz heard the same noise high-pitched squeaking from last night and looked around. "What is that?" Tanz said.

The Dunmer walked into the Argonian's room. "What?" She asked.

"That..." He said as the squeaking continued.

"That's been going on for a while now. We haven't really looked into it." The Elf said.

"Oh, okay." Tanz said. "Thanks." Tanz walked out of the Hall of Attainment and into the courtyard. He looked around the courtyard. There were six dorms, each with two floors. Trebon said that the Hall of Countenance was across from the Hall of Attainment. Tanz looked over to the opposite side of the entrance. There was a door and an Imperial standing by it.

Tanz walked over to the other dorm and the Imperial looked up at him. "Your that new apprentice right?" She asked. She had on the standard college robes and had the hood pulled over her head, obscuring her face from view. The Imperial was leaning against the wall with her legs crossed. Tanz nodded. "What's your name?"

"Tanz." He said.

"Cania, a pleasure." She said and smiled wickedly. So, this was the Imperial that Trebon had warned him about. And he was right she was strange. It wasnt so much her, but the energy that she radiated. Something about her was just unnerving. She gave of a feeling... it was like she wanted to hurt him. Badly. She seemed familiar too, he was sure he had seen her somewhere before.

"Is Mirabelle in there?" Tanz asked. She gave him a nod.

"Her room is on the second floor." She said with a toothy grin. She leaned off the wall and patted him on the shoulder and proceeded toward the Hall of the Elements. He stood there for a moment. Where had he seen her before? He shoved the thought to the back of his mind and walked into the Hall of Countenance.

"That friend of yours was right, she is strange." Bros said.

"Yeah... where have I seen her before?" Tanz asked.

The dorm was the same as the Hall of Attainment. He walked through to the stairs on the other side off the room. He proceeded up the stairs and saw Mirabelle in a bedroom on the other side of the room.

He walked over and knocked on the door's stone frame. She turned around and looked at him expectantly. "Yes?"

"The other apprentices said I was supposed to get some robes from you." He said.

"Oh. Oh, yes I'm sorry about that." She said and lead him into an empty room full of boxes and crates. She opened one of them and pulled out a robe and some boots. She held them out for him.

He took the robe but pointed to his boots. "Uh, already got some, thanks." He said.

"Most people usually do have boots already. But we get some just in case. Some of these apprentices were quite poor when they came here, Vistha being one example." The Breton said.

"Vistha?" Tanz asked.

"Another Argonian student here. She's here to study restoration and alteration I believe." Mirabelle said. A group of students walked by and the Breton's eyes widened slightly. "I'd hurry if I were you. Your first class starts in a few minutes."

"Oh, okay." He said as he turned and strode out of the Hall of Countenance. As he was walking out of the dorm, he realized he had no idea where he was going. Tanz saw two students walking towards the Hall of the Elements. He followed them into the Hall of the Elements and the apprentices were crowded Ina group just like the day before. He walked into the hall and saw a female Argonian talking to an Imperial. She said something to the Imperial and turned away. She looked at him and smiled brightly. His eyes followed her as she walked away.

"Hm, that didn't take long." Bros said.

"What... Didn't..." He said still staring.

"It's easy to tell when someone's smitten, child." Bros said.

"Smitten!? What!? I'm not smitten!" Tanz babbled defiantly as his head filled with laughter.

"Alright, if you say so." The spirit said. Tanz noticed Trebon and the rest and started over toward them. The four were smiling at him with knowing looks.

"What?" Tanz asked. The four started laughing hysterically, drawing attention from the other apprentices around them. The Argonian scowled. "What!?" He hissed. They all looked at Vistha and back at Tanz. J'zargo winked at the Argonian. "I swear to Akatosh!" He growled.

"You looked at her like Brelyna looks at Dalam!" Onmund managed to say between laughs, which earned him a scowl from the she-elf.

"I have no idea what your talking about." She said.

"Alright class! I have an important announcement. The arch-mage, Savos Aren, has permitted me to take you all to the Saarthal ruins." Tolfdir started. "Tomorrow, we will be heading down there for the entirety of the day to observe the Nordic ruins. But for now we will continue or normal exercises. Spread into groups and practice using magelight." The apprentices split into groups and started casting magelight at the floating masses of magicka.

"Great, we get to go wandering through the a Nordic ruin for a whole day." Trebon grumbled.

"I doubt that the arch-mage received permission from anyone." Onmund said as he cast magelight at the magicka well.

"I don't know. I heard these Nordic ruins are filled with draugr." Brelyna said warily.

"Do you think that there will be anything... Valuable, in the ruins?" The feline asked. The four glared at him. "What? It's not like the dead will be using it!" J'zargo said.

"I think we should just let the dead sleep." Onmund said And shrugged. The group practiced casting the spell while the Argonian stood there, watching.

"What's wrong?" Brelyna asked.

"I don't know that spell." He replied.

"Oh, Tolfdir might give you a tome if you asked." She said.

"Oh, okay." Tanz said and walked across the foyer to the alteration teacher. "Um, excuse me?" He asked. The elder turned to the Argonian.

"Yes?"

"Uh, I don't know the magelight spell." Tanz said, "Do you have a tome or something?"

"I should have one in here." He said as he pulled out a tome from his satchel. "No that's not the one." The Nord handed him a tome. "Hold this please. That's not it. Where is it?" He said and his eyes widened. "Ah! Here it is." Tolfdir said and handed him another tome. "There you are." He said with a nod.

"Thanks." Tanz said. Another apprentice approached the elder which drew his attention away from Tanz. Tanz looked at the magelight spell along with the other tome. "Wait, you forgot... this... Tanz said as he looked at the tome. He pocketed the tomes and started back toward his group with a grin.

"I hope your not planning to steal that." Bros criticized.

"Just... borrowing." Tanz said under his breath. Trebon looked at the smug Argonian with a quizzical expression.

"What? Did you get the tome from Tolfdir?" He asked. Tanz pulled the two tomes from his pocket and held them proudly before the Imperial. "He gave you two of the same tome?" Trebon asked.

"He asked me to hold it and forgot to take it back." The Argonian said with a grin. "And he also gave me the magelight tome."

The Imperial crossed his arms and stared at Tanz with a raised eyebrow. "You stole it?" Trebon asked.

"J'ZARGO HAS DONE NOTHING!" J'zargo screamed.

"Not you." Trebon yelled over his shoulder.

"I'll give it back but after I learn what's on it." Tanz said.

"That's a terrible plan." Trebon said as he rubbed the bridge of his nose. He looked back up and sighed. "Alright then, what's the spell?" Tanz opened the tome and looked through the writing. "What is it?"

"Telekinesis." Tanz said.

"What!? That's an advanced spell. I doubt you could manage that, you'd need a large magicka reserve to use it." Trebon said.

"I'll give it a try later." Tanz said and as he put the tome in his pocket. He read through the magelight tome for a few minutes. Once he was confident he understood how to cast the spell, he stood in his casting position. He charged the spell and his forearm became numb, almost weightless. A ball of luminous energy left his palm and collided with a mass of magicka which absorbed the energies.

"That was fast, it usually takes me an hour to learn a new spell." A familiar voice said. Tanz turned to the voice and saw Cania standing there with her arms folded, an Erie smile plastered on her face. He stared at her, trying to remember where he had seen here before. "Something wrong?"

"I... Have I met you somewhere before?" Tanz finally asked.

"Not to my recollection." She said flatly. "So, have you learned that spell from the other tome you took from that old fool."

"What tome?" Tanz lied, his eyes darting back and forth.

"Don't be coy. Word spreads fast, especially when you hear and see it firsthand." She said with a evil smile. "I'll see you around. Have fun with that new spell." She walked slowly toward him and ran a hand along his shoulder as she walked past him.

"Conduit, that girl is not to be trusted." Bros said grimly. "Watch her carefully."

"Like I wasn't already." The Argonian said.

The Imperial smiled wickedly as she walked away from the unsuspecting Argonian. "All hail Sithis."


	13. The Skeever

** Hey everybody! This is the thirteenth chapter of Thaumaturge! The first part lf this chapter is just a filler. And I admit it isn't my best work, I've been having trouble writing lately. And I've also been working on two new stories that I'll be releasing soon. Anyways, I hope you enjoy this chapter. Read on!**

The rest of the day had passed without a problem. Tanz had learned a fear spell from the illusion teacher, Drevis Neloran and was now walking back to his room with the other four apprentices. It was about four o'clock and the group was walking across the courtyard and toward the Hall of Attainment.

"I don't understand why I can't do it. I just can't." Onmund said glumly.

"It's not that hard. Conjuring a familiar is easy." Brelyna said.

"Well it's easy for you because your specialty is conjuration. I mean you can already summon an atronach." Trebon said.

"So can I." Tanz said and raised his hand slightly.

"Really?" Onmund asked.

"Yeah." Tanz sat down on his bed and pulled out the Telekinesis tome and looked through it for a few minutes. After about ten minutes he noticed Brelyna watching him.

"I can't believe you stole that." She said, shaking her head.

"I'm just borrowing it." He protested. She chuckled and the squeaking noise from before resumed. They both fell quite and listened to the noise.

"It sounds like its coming from under the wardrobe." The Dunmer said. Tanz stood up and readied his casting arm. It was the perfect time to try out this new spell. Tanz aimed his right arm at the wardrobe and an orange glow emanated from his palm. He cast the spell at the wardrobe but it wasn't enough. He cast the spell with his left hand and the orange glow became brighter. The wardrobe slowly lifted off the ground. Tanz slowly moved his hands and the wardrobe followed.

Tanz moved the wardrobe a few feet revealing a small, infant skeever. Tanz's eyes widened and he dropped the wardrobe. "BAH!" Tanz screamed as he jumped over his bed and a small flame materialized in his hand. Brelyna ran in front of him and grabbed his arm.

"It's just a skeever!" She yelled. "Its eyes aren't even open!"

"Calm down, Conduit." Bros said.

"What is all the shouting!?" J'zargo asked as the other three walked into the room.

"Look!" Tanz yelled and pointed at the newborn skeever.

"That? It's just a skeever." Trebon said. "Are you seriously afraid of skeevers?"

"They're just so... Guh..." Tanz said and shivered.

"You're afraid of skeevers." Trebon repeated.

"Yes..." Tanz said. They all laughed at the Argonian mage's expense and he growled angrily. J'zargo, still laughing hysterically, pointed at Tanz and then at the infant skeever and tried to speak.

"You...! And that...!" He managed.

Tanz huffed. "At least I'm not afraid of a little water..." Tanz grumbled. The Khajit stopped laughing and scowled.

"J'zargo is not afraid of water!" The cat yelled.

"Yes you are." Trebon said and turned to Brelyna and Onmund. "Remember when it started raining and he refused to go outside. He missed all his classes."

"J'zargo was sick!" He yelled.

"Alright, alright. At least we know what was making that noise." Brelyna said as she let go of the Argonian's arm. Tanz walked out of his room and Trebon picked up the infant skeever.

"What are we going to do with it?" He asked.

"Put it outside." Tanz suggested. "In the snow."

"Something that doesn't kill it slowly and painfully." She said.

"Well, it can't stay here." Tanz said.

"I don't know what to do with it." Brelyna said. "Let's go into town and ask if anyone wants it."

"Why would anyone want a skeever?" Tanz asked bitterly.

"People used to keep them as pets." J'zargo said with a shrug. The rodent squirmed in Trebon's hand and emitted another squeak.

"There's a reason people don't now. They grow up to be huge vicious vermin." Tanz said.

"Come on, we'll go into town and see if anyone wants it." The she-elf said. They started for the door and Tanz sighed angrily.

"Who would want a skeever?" He said to himself.

The mages walked across the bridge and into Winterhold. A guard stood leaning against a building. "Pfft, mages." He huffed. Tanz gave him a stern look and the guard stood there, daring him to make a move.

"Tanz why don't you like skeevers?" Brelyna asked.

"They're disgusting." He said.

"So are frostbite spiders." J'zargo said.

"And I hate them too." The Argonian said. They walked into the inn and a couple people turned to glare at the mages. Brelyna took the Skeever out of Trebon's hand and walked up to the innkeeper. She returned a few minutes later with the Skeever.

"He said that the Jarl's son wanted a pet." She said. "That's our best bet for getting rid of him." She gestured to the infant.

"How do you know its a him?" Onmund asked. She looked down at the Skeever and looked back up at the Nord and chuckled. "Nevermind." He mumbled. They all walked out of the inn and entered the Jarl's longhouse. On the other side of the entrance room was a throne with the Jarl, Korir, sitting upon it looking rather bored. To his left was a male Dunmer who was presumably his steward. The jarl looked when he noticed the mages.

"Yes? What is it?" He asked flatly. Brelyna approached the throne and held the Skeever up a little higher.

"We heard your son wanted a pet." She said presenting the Skeever to the Jarl. He learned forward to look at the rat.

"Ah, yes. But, that's a skeever." He said.

"It's an infant." She said. "It could be domesticated."

"It's a damn skeever! That thing could attack my son! My only heir!"

"That's only if your son gives it a reason." She said.

The Jarl sighed and turned to his steward. "Malur, go fetch Assur." He said to the male Dunmer. The Elf nodded and walked off into another room. He came back a few minutes later with a small boy. The child walked up to Brelyna and looked at the skeever in her hand. She handed him the skeever and he looked it over. He looked at his father with pleading eyes. The Jarl rolled his eyes and sighed. "Fine." He looked back at the mages. "Thank you, my son has been wanting a pet for quite some time now. If you ever need a favor, don't hesitate to ask."

Tanz sighed. Trebon looked at him and chuckled. "I can't believe your afraid of Skeevers."

"Whatever. I'm just glad that thing is gone." He grumbled. The group left the Jarl's longhouse and walked back to the college. They had walked about halfway across the bridge when Trebon groaned.

"Oh yeah, we have to go with Tolfdir to that ruin tomorrow." He said.

"What so bad about that?" Tanz asked.

"A while ago we went to a ruin by Riften, what was it called?" Trebon said.

"Kagrenzel." Brelyna answered.

"Right. Tolfdir took us all down there. It took three days to get there and when we finally got there. The whole ruin was collapsed." He said. "The whole trip was a complete waste of time."

The mages walked through the college's gates and toward the Hall of Attainment. It was about six o'clock and the sun was just starting to set. The five entered the hall and walked into their rooms. Tanz put the wardrobe back in its place and settled down in his bed. Tanz pulled the telekinesis tome from his satchel and read through it again. He had already leaned the spell, but now he needed to put it back without Tolfdir knowing.

He put down his satchel and stood up. He walked out of his room and into J'zargo's room. J'zargo sat on his bed holding a scroll. He looked up when Tanz walked in and he put the scroll down on his nightstand. J'zargo scratched at the back of his neck. "Could you possibly help J'zargo?"

"Was kinda ask for the same thing." Tanz said. "What do you need help with?"

The Khajit picked up the scroll off the nightstand and presented it to the Argonian. "I made these scrolls, I need someone to test them. They're similar to the flame cloak spell, and they're especially potent against the undead."

"Why don't you test them yourself?"

"They may be... Dangerous." The feline said.

"So you want me to test them?" Tanz asked.

"Yes." J'zargo said. "You wanted to ask for my help?" Tanz nodded.

"I need help returning the Telekinesis tome without Tolfdir knowing." Tanz explained. "And since you have... Experience in stealing things. I thought maybe you could help."

"I steal things. I don't return them." J'zargo said. Onmund appeared behind Tanz.

"It's true." He said flatly. "Are you going to go return that tome?"

"I was hoping you could do it." Tanz said looking at J'zargo. The cat nodded.

"Alright, J'zargo will help you. But you have to help me test the scrolls." J'zargo said.

"Fine." Tanz nodded and J'zargo handed him a few scrolls. "So where's Tolfdir's room?"

"Upstairs." Onmund said.

"Okay, so just-" Tanz started.

"I get it. It's stealing backwards." J'zargo interrupted. Tanz handed him the tome and the two followed the Khajit upstairs. Tolfdir's room was on the other side of the hall, the Nord nowhere to be seen. Tanz and Onmund watched from the stairs as J'zargo walked across the room with the tome, watching out for Tolfdir as he went. J'zargo walked into Tolfdir's room and opened his wardrobe and set the tome inside. He heard footsteps coming toward the room and quickly jumped into the wardrobe.

Tolfdir walked through the doorway, sat down in a chair, and started reading a book. Onmund and Tanz sat there in silence. "He's doomed." Tanz muttered.

"Yeah." The Nord said. "Should we try and get him out?" Tanz gave him a look and the Nord shrugged.

"Yes. We should try to get him out." Tanz said. "You go talk to him about something and I'll get him out."

"Alright."

The Nord walked over to Tolfdir and he looked up from his book. "Yes?" He asked.

"I needed some help with my... conjurations..." Onmund said.

"Phinis is the conjuration teacher." Tolfdir said.

"I've tried talking to him, but it didn't help. I thought maybe getting help from someone else might work." Onmund said.

"Oh, alright then." The elder said. Onmund led him out into the hall and tried to cast a familiar repeatedly, failing each time. Tanz walked by and slipped into Tolfdir's room. He opened the wardrobe and saw J'zargo sitting down inside. He looked at Tanz and stood up. Tanz gestured for him to follow and the two slipped out of the Nord's room. Onmund was still trying to summon a conjuration while Tolfdir was trying to give help him.

"Uh, thanks for the help." Onmund said and hurried away.

The three walked down the stairs and relaxed. Brelyna was looking at them with questioning eyes. "What's wrong?" She asked.

"Nothing." Tanz said. "We just returned the tome."

"Oh." She said. "Alright. Well it's getting late we should get to bed." Trebon was already asleep on his bed and the others settled into their rooms. Tanz walked into his room. As he sat on his bed he realized the absence of his guide.

"You've been quiet for a while, anything wrong?" Tanz asked.

"I've been communicating with Bredich, your trials will resume in a few days." Bros said.

"How many days, exactly?" Tanz asked.

"About two to three days, he wasn't specific." Bros answered.

"Alright." Tanz said and laid down on his bed. He shut his eyes and fell asleep.


	14. Saarthal

**Hello everyone. The newest chapter of Thaumaturge is here after... I don't remember how long it took but I'm sorry for the wait. I'm working on some projects at school and working on getting a couple more stories up. I did get a new story involving Mass Effect put up if you wanna check that out. Also: I try to proofread before I post things but if you see something please, please, PLEASE, tell me. Anyways, enjoy this chapter. Read on!**

Tanz woke up to someone shaking him. He opened his eyes and saw Trebon standing next to his bed. "Your going to have to start getting up on your own soon." He mumbled, more to himself than to Tanz.

Tanz stood up and prepared for the trek to Saarthal. He pulled his hood over his feathers and horns and walked out of his room. The other four mages were ready and waiting for him.

"Ready?" Onmund asked. Tanz nodded and he group walked out into the courtyard.

"Tolfdir said we're supposed to meet at the ruins." Trebon said. Tanz started after J'zargo, Trebon, and Onmund when he saw Brelyna standing behind him. She was staring at him, almost afraid.

"Something wrong?" Tanz asked. She shook her head.

"No, nothing." She replied. "Come on, we should get going." She walked past him and out onto the bridge.

"That was odd." Tanz said. "What do you think that was about?"

"Maybe she's that assassin." Bros said.

"No, I don't think so." Tanz said. "Maybe I'm just being paranoid." Tanz walked out across the bridge after the others and reached each the other side. They walked through the town and out onto the trail. Snow was falling and the sky was a dark grey. On top of that it was windy, which made the snow resemble hail. The snow came at an angle and it became difficult to see. The group stuck closely together following behind Trebon who held up his palm, a flame hovering closely above.

They had walked for a few minutes when Tanz thought he saw something in the distance. He tapped Onmund's shoulder. "Look." The five stopped to look at the figure and waved. A lone person in a snowstorm did not make a good situation.

"Maybe it's and apprentice." J'zargo shrugged.

"Hello?" Brelyna shouted. The figure moved and a shard of ice shot out toward them. They all dropped and raised prepared a spell. Tanz prepared a ice shard and aimed. The figure ran off and its silhouette disappeared.

"Hey! Get back here!" Trebon said and sprinted after, followed by J'zargo. Onmund, Brelyna, and Tanz ran after.

"Trebon wait!" Brelyna yelled.

"Stop!" Onmund shouted. They followed them down into a small canyon that provided cover from the snow and wind. The three saw Trebon and J'zargo launching lighting bolts at the attacker. The attacker was wearing red and black armor with black hands adorning it. It was a female he noticed, and had raised a ward to block the spells. Tanz launched a few shards at the attacker and charged at her and reached for his sword. His hand found his robe, he left his sword at the college.

"Damn it all!" Tanz yelled. He heard Onmund shout something and Tanz looked up. The attacker was sprinting towards Tanz with a dagger. She had something slung across her back. It was a crossbow. She lunged at him with the blade. He blocked with a barrier and swung his fist at the attacker. She hopped backwards and blocked a spell with a ward. This was the assassin from before the one who had a tracked him on the way to the college. She charged at Tanz again and rammed into his stomach. He fell backward a few feet and she aimed the crossbow at him.

She fired and Tanz rolled to his left. It was instinct, he was acting on adrenaline and fear. He cast a blue orb at the ground and Fera appeared by his side. He pointed at the assassin. "Fera, attack!" He commanded. The assassin muttered something and charged past the atronach toward him, dodging firebolts as she ran. She swung at him with the knife.

"To the void with you!" She screamed. Tanz discharged his barrier spell and she stumbled backward. She tripped and fell onto her back. She started to stand up when Tanz ran over to her. He held his hand in the air and a red glow emitted from his palm. The glow intensified and the assassin's eyes widened. "What are you..." She never finished the sentence. Tanz cast the spell and the assassins screamed in fear. She scrambled away and Tanz fired a shard into her side. She yelped and ran off into the storm. She turned around long enough to glare at him with menacing emerald eyes.

Trebon and J'zargo launched lightning bolts as she fled. Once she was out of sight the other four headed over. "What in Oblivion was that about!?" Trebon shouted. "Was she after you?" He asked. The four stared at him expectantly.

"I... Don't know." Tanz said. Brelyna looked at him like she did at the college, wary and distrustful. "Uh... Lets just keep going."

"Yeah, we should go tell Tolfdir or something." Onmund said.

"No!" Tanz shouted. They all gave him odd looks.

"Why not?" Brelyna asked.

It had just came out, he didn't even know why he had said it. "Uh... It was probably just a thief or a bandit or something. Or a rogue mage." Tanz said. Trebon, J'zargo, and Onmund bought it but Brelyna seemed skeptical but didn't say anything.

"Let's just go." Trebon said. "We're late anyways." The five continued on and in a few minutes they arrived at the ruins. The apprentices, along with Tolfdir, stood outside the ruin. The five walked into the crowd and Tolfdir noticed them. He looked over the crowd and nodded.

"Alright everyone. We'll be entering the ruins now. Be on your guard, this ruin still has active traps." Tolfdir said.

"What are we looking for?" An apprentice asked.

"Anything! Anything relating to magic. Wards, barriers, things like that." He said.

The students followed Tolfdir into the ruin. Tanz nostrils burned. It smelled of rotted flesh and dust. "By Akatosh! What's is that smell?" Tanz said.

"Corpses," Onmund said. "Saarthal is filled with the ancestors. We shouldn't be here, we should let the dead sleep."

"I'd watch out for draugr, these crypts are filled with them." Trebon said.

The group started to move on and something grabbed Tanz arm. He jumped and saw Brelyna holding is forearm. "I need to talk to you." Tanz looked back at the group who had had already proceeded down the hall. Tanz looked back at the Dunmer who had folded her arms.

"What?" Tanz asked.

"Who were you talking to last night?" She asked. Tanz's heart skipped. She had heard him talking to Bros.

"Uh... Nobody. I don't know what your talking about." Tanz lied.

"We already have one strange person at the college and we don't need another." The Dunmer said.

"Just give me moment." Tanz said and walked a little ways away. "What do I do?"

"She can't know about me." Bros said.

"Well what do I tell her?"

"Make something up." The spirit said.

"Fine!" Tanz said. He turned back to the Dunmer who was staring at him.

"Well?"

"Um..." Tanz said and sighed.

"Don't!" Bros commanded.

"The Daedric Prince, Vaermina. Do you know who she is?" Tanz said.

"Conduit, do not tell her!" Bros shouted.

"The Daedric Prince of dreams and nightmares, yes." Brelyna responded.

"In order for her to access this realm, she chooses people at birth to be a 'Conduit'. Without Conduits, she would have no influence on Nirn." Tanz explained. "I am one of these 'Conduits'.

"So why were you talking to yourself?" Brelyna asked skeptically.

"Vaermina should be able to contact me any time. She can't for some reason, so she assigned a past Conduit, the person I was talking too, to be my guide and to relay messages to me."

"So where is he?" Brelyna asked, it seemed she past believing him.

"In my head..." Tanz said.

"So you're telling me: a spirit is living inside your head, and your a servant of a Daedric Prince?" The Dunmer said, showing slight anger.

"Yeah... But not by choice." Tanz said quickly in an attempt to calm the angry Elf. "And that person from earlier that attacked us? She is an assassin that w hired to kill me." The Elf stood there, speechless. "You can't tell anyone!"

"I need to think about this." She said in shock. "We need to go back with the rest of the group." The two walked back to the group who had gone a few rooms deeper into the ruin. They entered a room filled with wooden scaffolding. The scaffolding made stairs that led down deeper into the ruin. The group had already walked down the stairs and Tolfdir was assigning tasks to the apprentices. The two hurried down the stairs and walked into the crowd. Tolfdir noticed Tanz and gestured for him to come to him.

"Ah, I need you to meet with Arniel Gane and help him with his research." Tolfdir said, he looked past Tanz and walked past him toward another apprentice. The crowd separated as students went off to complete their tasks. Tanz walked through the halls of the crypt in search of Arniel Gane, every few minutes seeing or passing a student. But after a while he saw less and less apprentices. He walked on through the halls for a while without finding Arniel.

He heard footsteps behind him and turned around. The figure in the red and black armor stood in the hall with her arms crossed. "Well, well, well." She said. "You got me good with that fear spell. But I won't fall for that again."

She pulled a dagger from her belt and stalked toward him. He launched flames from his hands and the hallway was filled with fire. She charged the fire at him and rammed into him. They toppled over and charged a lightning bolt in one hand and kneed him in the chest. Tanz launched a ice shard at her and she jumped backwards and fired the lightning bolt. Tanz cast a ward and the electricity dissipated along the ward's surface. Tanz charged firebolts in both hands and launched them both at the assassin. She dodged the attack and sprinted toward him.

She lunged at him with the dagger and he blocked with a barrier. He discharged the barrier and it propelled the assassins arm the other way. She spun and slammed her fist into the side of his head. He lost his balance and slammed into he wall. The argonian snarled and stood up. She laughed mockingly and stood upright.

"I thought lizards were supposed to be nimble?" She teased. He hissed and charged a firebolt. He launched it and she blocked with a ward. He launched shard after shard until the ward weakened. He charged and raised a barrier like a battering ram. He discharged the barrier as he neared closer and she stumbled. She swung at him with the dagger and he raised his arm in defense.

The knife cut through the scales and flesh and he growled. He grabbed the dagger's blade with his left hand and discharged a barrier with his right. She let go of the dagger and fell onto her back. He threw the dagger to the ground and stomped over. She raised her hand and a blinding light emanated from her hand. He shielded his eyes and after a few seconds the light vanished along with the assassin.

"Damn you!" He screamed.

"Are you alright?" Bros asked.

Tanz looked down at the gash in his forearm, he hadn't felt it until Bros mentioned it. The pain set in as the adrenaline wore off. He quickly sat down and cast a healing spell on the wound and after a few seconds the wound was completely sealed. Tanz stood up and searched the halls for the assassin. After a few minutes he gave up. He grabbed the dagger and moved on. The dagger was a dark green with jagged curves and edges.

"How'd the assassin know I was here?" Tanz asked.

"Its possible she followed you here." Bros said.

"I don't think so, I don't see how she would find out we were coming here." Tanz said.

"Maybe she was in the college, assassins can get closer than you think." Bros said.

Suddenly it dawned on him. "She's a student at the college." Tanz said. "Mirabelle said that someone enrolled before me. It took two days for me to get to the college, in that two days the she could have enrolled there."

"It's possible." Bros said.

"I need to find out who enrolled right before I did." Tanz said.

"Don't worry about that now, focus on the task at hand. The Nord told you to find Arniel Gane."

"The Nord? You mean Tolfdir?"

"I don't pay attention to names." Bros said.

Tanz walked through the halls for a few minutes and found who he assumed was Arniel. The Breton was hunched over examining an artifact. Tanz walked over and tapped a finger on his shoulder. Arniel jumped and turned around.

"What!" He shouted as he turned around. "Oh, my apologies."

"Tolfdir wanted me to help you with your research." The Argonian explained.

"Oh, well, I'm just looking for enchanted items and artifacts. Search the area for artifacts." Arniel said.

Tanz walked around into the rooms and found a ring on a table, a circlet on a shelf, and another ring on the floor. He walked into another room and found an amulet perched on a stone wall. He pulled the amulet off the wall and heard a rumbling sound. He turned around and saw a metal gate rise out of the ground, blocking the only exit. Tanz ran over to the gate and Tolfdir and an apprentice stood on the other side.

"What happened?" Tolfdir asked.

"I pulled an amulet off the wall." Tanz said.

"Strange." The Nord said.

"How do I get out of here?"

"The amulet must have something to do with it." Tolfdir said. "Put it on." Tanz pulled the necklace over his head and around his neck. The wall that he pulled the amulet from started to glow. "There!" Tolfdir said. Tanz walked up to the wall and tapped on it. "Try casting a spell on the wall." Tanz charged a firebolt and cast it at the wall. The stone exploded into fragments and a pathway was revealed. The gate behind him fell back into the ground and Tolfdir stepped in.

"How very strange..." He muttered. "I'm not sure what to expect here, please be on your guard." They walked through the passageway and out into a room with three coffins and a pedestal. Tolfdir examined one of the coffins while Tanz looked for a way through. Tanz looked back at the Nord.

"I don't see any-" He started to say. Everything turned blue and Tolfdir froze. An Altmer appeared I front of him. He was wearing tan robes with various markings. A cowl was pulled over his head.

"Hold mage, and listen well." He said. "Know that you have set in motion a chain of events that cannot be stopped. Judgement has not been passed, as you have no way of knowing. Judgement will be passed on your actions to come, and how you deal with the dangers ahead of you. This warning has been passed to you because the Psijic order believes in you. You mage, and you alone, have the potential to prevent disaster. Take great care, and know that the order is watching." As soon as he finished, he disappeared in a flash of purple. Tolfdir started to move again and Tanz's vision returned to normal.

"I... I swear I felt something rather strange just then, what just happened?" The Nord said.

"An Elf appeared, he said something about danger and the Psijic order." Tanz explained.

"The Psijic order!?" Are you sure? Nobody has heard of any news about them in years. And danger ahead? Why, that doesn't make any sense at all." Tanz stood there in silence. "The Psijic's have no connection to these ruins... Perhaps we should look inside these coffins." Tanz and Tolfdir walked over to one of the three coffins and peeled off the cover. A rotted corpse fell onto the ground. The corpse shook and stood up. It pulled an axe from its belt and lunged at Tanz. He raised a barrier and cast a volt of fire at the draugr. The firebolt exploded when it made contact with the draugr and the remaining skin boiled away. The corpse collapsed in a burning heap.

The other two coffins opened revealing two more draugr. They both rushed towards the mages. Tolfdir cast a fire spell at the corpse and it fell. Tanz fired a few ice shards into the draugr's chest. The shards busted the zombie's rib cage but it kept walking toward the Argonian. Tanz pulled the dagger from his belt and jabbed the blade into the draugr's chest. The blue glow faded from its eyes and it fell limp. Tanz yanked the dagger from the lifeless body and shoved it to the ground. "Draugr..." Tolfdir said. "We should keep moving."

One of the opened coffins led into a passageway that led to a large circular room. A bridge led over a small pool of black water. Coffins circled the room along with lit candles. A few of the coffins opened and draugr stepped out. Tanz and Tolfdir made quick work of them. "I've never seen anything like this in Nordic ruins before. I'm going to examine this, go on, I'll catch up. But if these ruins are as dangerous as they seem, be careful."

The next door was guarded by spikes and a metal grating. By it were two chains on each side. Tanz tugged on both and the spikes and grating lifted. Tanz walked through the door and into a room filled with corpses. The corpses sat in indentions in the wall, wrapped in cloth. The corpses didn't move however. Tanz walked through the room, around a corner, and into another two-floored room. A few draugr appeared and Tanz cast an arc of lightning at the closest. It spasmed and collapsed after a few seconds. Tanz launched an ice shard at the second but it blocked with an iron shield. The shard shattered against the metal.

Tanz rushed at the draugr with the dagger and rammed into it with his shoulder. The corpse fell onto its back and he stabbed the knife into its chest, just below the rib cage. The last rushed at him and hit the Argonian with his shield. Tanz launched a firebolt at the draugr and it caught it in the chest. The draugr's skin melted away and it fell. Tanz stood up and searched for any more of the undead. Finding none he continued.

The Argonian walked up some stairs and turned to the left. He passed through some doors and walked down an incline. As he reached the bottom he saw a treasure chest. He started toward it when he heard a click. Darts shot out of the wall and Tanz grunted as he dropped onto his stomach. A dart fell down by his head and looked at the tip. A green liquid was dripping from the point. Poison. After a few seconds the barrage stopped and Tanz rose to his feet. Tanz checked himself over to make sure he hadn't been hit. Satisfied that he hadn't, he moved on.

He rounded a corner and entered a long hallway lined with corpses. In the hall were a few pillars with symbols: a whale, a bird, and a snake. Tanz walked down the hall, watching the corpses as he went. He examined the pillars. Behind each pillar was a tablet with one of the three symbols. At the end of the the hallway was a rusted metal gate and a lever. Tanz adjusted a pillar to match the symbol on the tablet behind it. He did the same with the others and after he had checked over them, he pulled the lever.

The metal gate lifted into the ceiling and Tanz walked on. He rounded a corner and walked down a few steps. He opened two iron doors and entered another room. It had two flights of stairs that led upward onto a platform. In the middle of the platform was a coffin. He started to walk up the steps when a draugr appeared at the top of the stairs. Tanz charged a firebolt in both hands, which made it doubly more powerful, and launched it at the draugr.

"Koh." The draugr muttered as the firebolt collided with its head. The undead slammed into the wall and tumbled down the stairs. Tanz nudged the corpse away past him as it fell. He walked up the steps and through a door. He entered a room that resembled one he had seen in Bleak Falls Barrow. The walls were covered in carvings, but at the end of the hall wasn't a door with rings. It was a metal gate with four pillars and a lever, just like the other hall. Tanz arranged the pillars in the correct order a pulled the lever.

The gate rose and Tanz started on when he heard a familiar voice. "Hold on my boy!" An out of breath voice said. Tanz turned around and saw Tolfdir running after him. "I though it high time I caught up with you. Lets get a move on." Tanz walked on while Tolfdir followed. They entered a large room, in its center was a massive glowing blue orb that hovered a few feet off the ground, and around the orb was a magic wall. On a lower level was a table with a staff on it, and a chair with a corpse sitting in it. The corpse's eyes lit up and the draugr stood up. It unsheathed a sword and launched an ice shard at Tanz. The mage countered with a ward and the shard shattered against the shield.

Tolfdir cast a flame spell at the draugr, but the spell had no effect. A magical shield enveloped the draugr's body, protecting it from any attack. "I'll find a way to weaken its shield! Distract it!" Tolfdir said. Tanz summoned Fera and she immediately started launching firebolts. Tolfdir seemed to vanish. The draugr started up the stairs charged at Tanz. Tanz fired multiple shards at the draugr and the ice shattered on the magical shield. The draugr had closed the distance and swung its sword at Tanz. Tanz blocked with a barrier and discharged, sending the draugr over the edge and onto the table below.

The staff rolled off the table and onto the ground. The draugr released a grunt and stood up. The shield around the corpse vanished and Tanz took his chance. He fired a few shards at the draugr and they hit home. The shards struck the draugr's chest and it collapsed onto the table, legs dangling of the edge. Tanz ran down the steps, toward the orb. Tolfdir stood before the floating ball, admiring and observing. Tanz walked up beside him and something hit his leg. He looked down and saw a staff on the ground. He picked it up and looked it over: the staff was made of wood and at the top was an orb that radiated magical energies.

"This is just amazing! We need to tell someone!" Tolfdir said. "I don't dare leave this unattended, would you go find Savos Aren at the college and inform him of this?"

"Will you be okay here by yourself?" Tanz asked.

"I'm more than capable." Tolfdir said defensively.

Tanz nodded, proceeded out the door and through a few hallways until he entered a familiar room filled with scaffolding. It was the same room he had passed through before when he entered Saarthal. He jumped down onto the wooden scaffolding and it rattled for a few moments. Tanz froze and proceeded when it settled. He ran up the scaffolding and out into the snow covered mountains of Skyrim.


	15. The Death Dealers Demise

**Hey everyone. I'm really sorry about posting late. I have a lot of projects to do for school and its kind of eating up my time and I've hit kind of a writing block so please bare with me. Here's the newest chapter and I hope you like it. Read on! **

Tanz's eyes adjusted to the light and he trekked back to the college. He entered the town of Winterhold. Tanz walked up the steps and started across the bridge. He looked up at the towers that surrounded the college and thought he saw something on top of one of the towers. It vanished and he continued.

Tanz walked across the bridge and under the archway. He heard a thud and turned around. The assassin stood up and brandished a golden knife. An anger built up inside of him as he glared at the infuriating assassin. "Who are you?" He asked angrily. She waved her finger at him.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk. I'd tell you, but why does it matter? Once your dead you won't have any use for that knowledge in the void." She responded. Tanz readied the green knife she had dropped earlier and prepared himself, holding the knife in a loose stance. She sprinted toward him and launched a flurry of attacks. Tanz dodged and blocked the lunges and retailiated with an ice shard. She blocked with a ward and he cast an arm of fire at him. He blocked with two wards and the flames dispersed and spread along the shield.

The assassin lunged again and he blocked his left. Then right, up, down, right again, and left. She hopped backward and rushed at him again. He swung with his left hand and she dropped onto her knees, sliding under the attack. And then ran the blade's edge along his side. His robe tore and blood trickled onto the snow. He snarled. Adrenaline was an amazing thing, it enabled you to ignore pain, no matter how much there was. But once it wore of, it catches up with you.

Tanz charged a firebolt and launched it at the assassin. She blocked with a ward and launched a lightning bolt. The bolt narrowly missed and he charged at her. She dodged to the left, tripped him, and he fell into the snow. She laughed playfully and he screamed in anger. "Damn you to the bowels of Oblivion, insufferable wench!" He shouted.

She laughed and ran her finger along the blade that was dripping with his own blood. She looked at her blood covered finger and licked it. "Hmm, bitter." She said, as if judging the taste of a stew, and laughed. He charged at her and she kneed him in the stomach. He fell to his knees and she patted him on the head.

"All brawn, no brain." She said and tapped on his snout with a finger. He hissed and tried to stand up, but was pushed back down. She took a hold of one of his horns to hold him in place and raised the dagger above her head. Tanz twisted, landed on his back, and discharged a barrier, sending her flying backwards. Tanz stood up and felt something set on his face. He ran his hand along his cheek and looked at the liquid. It was blood, he was loosing this fight.

Tanz summoned Fera and she appeared from a portal. The assassin charged and sank the blade into her 'stomach', ran behind her, and fired an ice spike into her back. She collapsed into ashes and she ran through and grabbed her dagger before the ash pile exploded. Tanz fired an arc of lightning into the assassin and she blocked it with a ward. She sprinted toward him and delivered a punch to his stomach. He coughed blood and fell to a knee. She giggled and walked forward to stand right in front of him.

"Conduit..." Bros said. "If you wish to live you will stand up!"

"If you come quietly, I'll kill you quickly." She offered. She put a hand on his chin and raised his head to look at her. He spit at her and she growled. She raised the knife and sank it into his leg. He screamed and she smiled wickedly. "Did that hurt?" She yanked the knife from his thigh and ran a finger along the blade. A vein of blood poured from the wound and he neared his teeth. He summoned all his strength and jumped up.

He rammed his forehead into her stomach and she tripped and landed on her back. She coughed as she rose back to her feet and smiled happily at him. Tanz rose to his feet and his leg gave out. He forced himself back up and locked his leg in a fixed position. She charged and lunged at him with the dagger. He blocked attack after attack and his arms became heavy and the pain in his leg burned. She raised the dagger over her head and lashed out at him from above. He raised the dagger and sent an electrical current through his sword arm and the blades connected. She screamed and fell to a knee as the current ran through her body.

She clutched at her burning arm and screamed in agony. He huffed and threw the dagger to the ground. In one swift motion he brought his hands together and cast an electric current at her unprotected chest and she flew back, out onto the bridge. Tanz struggled out and the assassin propped herself up on the broken railing. Her cowl had fallen, revealing a familiar, unsettling face.

"Cania?" He asked in shock. She laughed hysterically and looked at him, wide eyed.

"Yes, you damned fool. I'm surprised it took this long for you to figure it out." She said in between ragged gasps. Tanz coughed more blood and stared down at her. That last attack had left a mutilated, burned, hole where the skin had melted away. How she was still conscious was a mystery. Tanz walked over and picked up the green knife and walked back over to Cania. She looked up at him and chuckled wickedly.

"Your doomed lizard, if you kill me, someone else will take my place. That man payed a lot of coin for your life." She said and paused to take in another ragged breath. "Your fate is sealed, nothing you can do will change it. You will die." Tanz readied the dagger and she smiled.

"Today, I go to the void..." She whispered. "All hail Sithis..." Tanz thrust the blade into her chest and she coughed, more blood splattering onto the snow covered stone. She smiled as the life drained away from her eyes. Tanz scowled as he yanked the blade from her chest. He looked down and picked up the golden dagger. He turned and limped back into the courtyard as his vision became blurred.

"Conduit are you all right?" Bros asked worriedly. Tanz swayed and nodded.

"Yeah... I'll be... be..." Tanz started. His eyes began to close, and he fell to his knees and blacked out.

Tanz opened his eyes slowly, he was warm. He shouldn't have been. He looked around and found himself in a large room, filled with beds. He started to stand up and women across the room rushed over. Colette Marence, the restoration teacher, rushed ver to him with a scowl.

"No, lay back. You took a big thrashing, and you look like you haven't eaten in days!" She said as she pushed him back down. Tanz had never eaten much, he'd built up such a tolerance to going without food that he'd eat very little. He strained to look at her. "Your eyes are dilated, that means you have a concussion" Tanz settled back into the bed and a few minutes passed and then he realized.

"Cania!" Tanz shouted. Colette looked at him and her eyes fell to the floor solemnly.

"Yes, I've informed the Arch-Mage of what happened. I fear your a target of the Dark Brotherhood."

"Dark Brotherhood?" Tanz said and rubbed his forehead. His head hurt and chest hurt and the cuts burned.

"The Dark Brotherhood were once a respected guild of assassins. But now they have fallen, and become a petty cult of killers and murderers. But they are not to be trifled with, most of them are extremely dangerous. The Arch-Mage wanted to speak with you as soon as you woke up." The restoration teacher started to walk toward the door when Tanz spoke up.

"Wait, how long have I been asleep?" Tanz asked.

"A few hours, on their way back, the students found you unconscious and Cania dead on the bridge. Your friends brought you in here, that was a few hours ago." She said. "I could ask them to come in if you want."

"Sure." Tanz sighed. She nodded and walked out the door. Tanz looked around the room. There were beds and medical equipment everywhere. Medicine bottles, potions, and herbs lay in cabinets on the other side of the room. Tanz lay back in the bed and stared up at the ceiling. "Now what?"

"See what happens. Maybe things will work out better than expected." Bros said optimistically.

"And your realistic thoughts?" Tanz asked.

"Fine. I suggest you heal yourself. You need to be prepared for anything. The brotherhood could send another assassin, but I doubt everyone knows what you are."

"Alright." Tanz said. He raised his hand and cast a healing spell on his chest and stomach. Tanz was just starting to feel better when a Dunmer and Colette walked into the room. He stopped casting and laid back. The two walked in and started toward the bed. He assumed the Dunmer was the Arch-Mage, he had on a somewhat ceremonial robe and a necklace with a blue gem. He has an expression that seemed to say: bask in my presence. He looked down at Tanz and smiled slightly.

"It seems your in quite a predicament, care to explain?" Tanz sighed and looked down.

"Tell him." Bros said. Tanz looked up at the Du mer and explained everything. The journey to Winterhold, the trials on Quagmire, and so on. Savos stood there, arms crossed in contemplation. After Tanz finished, Savos sat on the bed next to Tanz's, with a frown.

"We'll, that was certainly a long story, but an understandable one, however strange." He said. Colette sat in a chair looking down at the floor. She looked up at the Dunmer as if debating.

"Savos," she said and stood up, and they both walked out into the hall. They may have walked into the hall, but Tanz could still easily hear them. "Savos, he cannot stay here, he's a danger to everyone here. We'd be asking for a dead student!

And considering how easy it was for one assassin to get into the college, what makes you think well be able to stop another!"

"Are you suggesting we send him out on his own to fend for himself. Especially in the state he's in! I will not sit idly by and send a man out while a cult of cutthroats are trying to kill him!" He said. She mumbled something he couldn't hear and Savos walked back in, an angry Colette glaring at him. "You can stay, but I need to get some more people involved, do not tell any of the students or anyone in town."

"Who do you need to get involved? The less people that know, the better." Tanz said.

"I have connections with the Imperials and the thieves guild, one of them might be willing to help." Savos said. "In the meantime, carry on with your classes. And do be careful."

Tanz nodded in agreement and started to stand up, when Savos frowned at him. " your still not healed, unless you want to break something you should stay in bed." The Arch-Mage said.

Savos left and walked out of the infirmary. A few minutes later Trebon and the other three mages walked in. "So, Cania tried to kill you. I knew she wasn't right up here." Trebon said and tapped on his forehead. "How you doing?" He asked, truly concerned. Tanz looked up at the four. J'zargo searched the room with a watchful gaze, clearly he wasn't satisfied that a killer had gotten into the school so easily. Brelyna looked the same as when he had last spoken with her, shocked and contemplative. She wouldn't even look him in the eye.

Onmund looked... The same, oddly enough. The fact an assassin had tried to kill Tanz either hadn't sank in or he didn't care. He did seem slightly worried about Tanz's welfare however. Trebon looked excited, almost happy to be friends with an assassin's target. "Fine. My head hurts, but I can't complain." Tanz responded.

"Well, you can complain, your being chased by a group of killers." Onmund said. "But why were they after you?" Tanz looked at Brelyna and she nodded slightly.

"I... Don't know." Tanz said. "When can I get out of here?"

"Colette said you can leave as soon as you feel better." Trebon said.

"Which doesn't mean as soon as you can walk. When we found you had the biggest gash in your leg I've ever seen."

"Where's Tolfdir?" Tanz said, remembering the elder Nord.

"He's fine, we found him in into the tomb by this big orb. He said he sent you to find Savos, but apparently Cania caught up with you." Onmund said.

"Yes yes! The lizard is okay and the crazy wench is dead!" J'zargo said angrily, raising his hands in frustration. The other mages gave him odd, judgmental look and the Khajit scowled. "What?"

"Anyways... What was that orb Tolfdir was guarding?" Trebon said.

"No idea." Tanz said with a shrug. "Tolfdir thought it important enough to show the Arch-Mage, so it has to be special in some way or another."

"Maybe Urag might have some information." Trebon said.

"Who's Urag?" Tanz asked.

"The librarian, he usually stays up in the Arcaneum." Onmund answered.

"Should we? I mean, its the none of our business. I say we just leave it to the Arch-Mage." Brelyna finally spoke up. She hasn't spoken at all to Tanz since he told her about the situation he was in. She wouldn't look at him either, but by the looks of things, she hadn't told anyone about him yet.

"Yeah, that makes sense, but that doesn't mean we can't do some research of our own.

Tanz swung his legs over the edge and placed his right foot, his good leg, on the ground. He touched his left foot to the ground and pushed of the bed. He felt a blinding pain in his leg and it gave out from under him, he fell onto the floor with a dull thud. Trebon and Onmund grabbed his arms and lifted him up.

"Your not going to be able to walk for a while, just lay down. Well see you later, once your healed." Onmund said as they set him on the bed. Tanz let out an exasperated sigh and sat back on the bed. The gash on his leg had started to heal but even with spells it would take while for it to be completely healed. The knife had cut all the way to the bone, and he was lucky the blade hadn't hit a vein or artery.

The group of mages walked out of the infirmary, leaving Tanz to his thoughts. While he was stuck in here, he was vulnerable. If another assassin showed up, he wouldn't be able to defend himself. Colette entered the room a few minutes later with a pair of iron bars. The bars were welded to smaller bars forming crude metal crutches.

"We spoke to the Jarl and he was kind enough to lend us these." She said, walking over to the bed. "Just put this under your arms and they'll support your weight. Keep off that leg." She placed the crutches against the bed and walked over to one of the cabinets. She opened one of the doors and pulled out a glass bottle. Inside was a thick red liquid. She shut the door and walked back to him and handed him the potion.

"Here, this will help dull the pain. Take it before you get up. I'll leave some more in here and in you room." She said. Tanz looked inside the bottle, shook it gently, and the liquid sloshed around inside the bottle. He opened the bottle and downed its contents. It was surprisingly sweet. Tanz set the empty bottle on the floor next to his bed. He swung his legs over the bedside and grabbed the crutches. Tanz pulled himself up onto his good foot and ticked the crutches under his arms and placed the tips on the ground. He moved forward slowly, and over toward the door.

He pushed the door open and walked through. It was snowing more heavily than it had the day before, Tanz moved steadily to the spot were he had killed Cania and found her body gone. Tanz turned and walked around the courtyard to get used to the crutches. A few apprentices were sitting outside practicing a flame spell. One of them, an Altmer, gave him an odd look. Hopefully Brelyna hadn't told everyone what Tanz was. But people did know he had killed Cania, even if it was in self-defense. Tanz moved slowly over to the Hall of Attainment. At least now he could sleep in his bed. Tanz pushed open the door and hurried inside. He walked into his room and sat down on his bed, setting the crutches against the nightstand. Tanz lay back on the bed and strained to stay awake. Tanz fell asleep a few minutes later, from a combination of exhaustion and mental stress. His head fell back onto his bed and had some much-needed rest.


	16. A Days Rest

**Hello everyone, this is the latest chapter of Thaumaturge! First I edited a part of the chapter 'Whiterun' to answer Dream Dragoness' question about the dragonborn. I'd suggest rereading it before reading this chapter. This will most likely (90% sure) that I will edit a chapter except to touch up, which I'm planning on doing to my earlier chapters. And remember I could ALWAYS use a critic or tip about my writing, wo if you have any advice PLEASE share it! Anyways, I hope you enjoy this chapter and I will try to get chapters out a little quicker than this one. Read on!**

Tanz woke up to the sound of a slamming door. He was cold, his wool blanket had fallen onto the stone floor in his sleep and had spread out on the floor. He pulled himself up and grabbed the blanket with his scaly hand. He pulled it not the bed and stood up, losing his balance immediately. He caught himself and sat back down on the bed. He wouldn't get used to this anytime soon. He heard a noise and a moment later saw Trebon walking out of his room. He walked toward Tanz's room and stopped at the doorway.

"Colette said to stay in bed today, she'll be by later for a healing session. We'll see you later." He said. He turned and walked over to the door. Tanz heard the door slam and he laid back to look up at the stone ceiling.

"This is going to be long day." Tanz said and sighed.

"Study your tomes or something, or you could go into town." Bros said.

"Trebon said to wait here for Colette." Tanz said. An Bosmer started down the stairs and walked past the magicka well that was centered in the room. He looked over at Tanz and frowned.

"Your that guy that's being hunted by those assassins, right?" He asked in a deep, raspy voice.

"Don't remind me." Tanz huffed. The Elf looked at the door before walking into the room.

"Fighting assassins must be difficult. Maybe you could use some better 'equipment'?" He said. He had dark brown skin,

"What do you mean?" Tanz asked. The Elf looked back over his shoulder.

"You know, 'equipment'." He said quietly.

"No I don't."

"Your not very good at this... I'm talking about illegal goods, stolen possessions, and 'hard to find' items." He finally said. Tanz's eyes widened in realization.

"You mean your a fence?" Tanz asked.

"Yes, I'm Enthir, and I'm not going to shake your hand." He answered. "I have some advanced spells and robes if your interested."

"I'm interested." Tanz said.

"Alright, meet me upstairs after today's lessons." Enthir said. "I'll see you then." He turned and walked off toward the door. Tanz lay back in the bed and released a sigh.

"This is going to be a long day..."

* * *

"Alright, that's it for the day, Urag was willing to lend you a few books so you would have something to keep busy with." Colette said as she stood up. She had been with Tanz for the last few hours healing his injured leg. "Unfortunately, Cania had coated the weapon with a poison before she attacked. So I will be coming in for next few days to help heal the wound properly."

"How come the poison didn't kill me?" Tanz asked.u

"It wasn't a deadly poison, it was more to cripple the body quickly and painfully. To hurt the victim so bad they stop fighting. I don't know how you were able to fight back with the poisons effects." She responded, "We found multiple cuts on your body with the poison inside. Luckily for you, Argonians are naturally resistant to poisons and disease, and that may have played a part in your ability to fight back against the poison. Anyways, I'll be back tomorrow for another healing session."

"Alright, and thanks." Tanz said, "How long do you think until I can walk again?"

"A few days." She answered, "For now, just rest. And don't push yourself. I'll see you later Tanz."

"Thanks again." Tanz said. Colette left Tanz's room and walked out of the Hall of Attainment. Tanz waited until he heard the clack of the door shutting before he stood and grabbed his crutches and coin. He stood up and headed toward the steps. He glanced to his right where Trebon was sitting in his room, reading, but he didn't notice Tanz.

He arrived at the stairs and realized something. He had to *walk* up the stairs, on crutches.

"Need some help?" A familiar voice asked, a person who he had confided in recently. Brelyna leaned against the magicka well that sat in the center of the room. Brelyna hadn't spoken to him since he had told her what he was. But, nobody else seemed to know, so she obviously hadn't told anyone.

"Oh... Yes, thank you." Tanz said. The Elf nodded and walked over. He lifted his leg as she grabbed his arm and pulled it over her shoulders. They steadily proceeded up the stairs and reached the top. She set him against the wall and he stuffed the end of the crutch under his arm. She watched him and nodded slowly. Tanz was surprised how much this had affected her, its not like she was in his situation. _She_ wasn't being chased by assassins. _She_ wasn't a Daedra's servant. _She_ wasn't in his situation. _He_ was, and if anyone should be angry or scared, it should have been him.

Why wasn't he afraid? He was being hunted by a group cutthroats, and he didn't feel much of anything. On top of that, the Arch-Mage knew he was being hunted, and soon he'd want to know why.

"Thanks." Tanz said. The She-Elf nodded and started slowly down the steps.

"I'd like to talk to you later if you have time..." She muttered.

"Sure." Tanz said. His eyes followed her as she walked down the steps and she vanished from view. Tanz turned and walked into the common room. He peeked inside of the rooms and saw Enthir sitting in a chair. His eyes widened when he saw the Argonian and he stood, a look of irritation on his face.

"Took you long enough." Enthir said. He reached in his pocket and pulled out a folded piece of paper. He handed it to Tanz who unfolded the note. He read through the list of tomes, staves, and scrolls.

"Wall of Flames? What's that spell?" Tanz asked. It was pricey, but he could barely afford it with what he had.

"It's what it says. A wall of fire." Enthir said, "I'm not sure you'd be able to cast it though, its a difficult spell to cast."

Tanz looked down at the list of items and reached in his pocket. He tossed it at Enthir who caught it against his chest. The coins clinked as he counted the money.

"Looks like enough and you've got a bit left over." Enthir said as he pulled the money out of the bag. He divided the coin and handed the rest back to Tanz. Enthir walked over to his dresser and pulled it away from the wall. Tanz counted the remaining coins as the Bosmer pulled the wooden dresser across the stone floor. He ushered Tanz over and knelt down. Tanz peeked around the dresser and a large chest sat behind it. Enthir opened a latch and lifted the lid upward.

"How did you get this in here?" Tanz asked. The entire wall looked like something had dug into it. This obviously hadn't been there all this time, but it wouldn't seem easy to do.

"You'd be surprised how long I've been here." He rummaged through the items and finally pulled a tome out of the chest. He stood and handed the tome to Tanz who grasped its spine. "There you go, do come back if you need any *extra protection*."

"Thanks." He stuffed the tome in his pocket and grasped the crutch. He moved out to the stairs and walked back down the steps. It was far easier getting down then getting up but it still took longer than it should have.

"I hope this was worth the coin." Tanz said as he walked down the steps.

"I bet you Sadean knows that spell. Maybe she can demonstrate it for you tonight." Bros spoke up.

"What's tonight?" Tanz asked.

"Your trial. Don't you remember? You should study that spell quickly, you may need it." Bros answered.

"What!" Tanz panicked. "How am I going to fight with my leg like this!?" Tanz looked down at the ground in contemplation.

"Obviously you can't, and it wouldn't be fair to make you fight the way you are, your leg will be normal in Quagmire." Bros said calmly. "Most likely..."

"Most likely...?" Tanz Sasuke's annoyedly. He could imagine himself crawling on the ground, through the dirt while casting spells and Daedra.

Tanz hadn't been to Quagmire since his time in Whiterun, and his fight with Delek had been difficult enough. These trials were going to be far more difficult than anything he had faced before, possibly more than the dragon he fought at Whiterun.

He hadn't thought about his fight with the dragon much at all. He wondered how Valund was faring. After all, being the Dragonborn must not have been easy. Had Valund journeyed up to High Hrothgar and met with the Greybeards? It had been almost two weeks since they had met at Whiterun. Tanz finally reached the bottom floor, and started walking over to the door he should practice a few of his spells before his trials anyways.

"Have time to talk now?" Someone else asked. Again, it was Brelyna sitting in her room. Tanz nodded and gestured for her to follow her. She stood and followed him outside. The sun was setting and its light had spread out along the horizon in a bright explosion of color. It was late, and the students and teachers had all returned to their rooms. He walked out to one of the small magicka wells and sat down on a step. He pulled out the tome and read through it multiple times.

Brelyna stared down at the ground in contemplation. She kept her eyes on the snow, but spoke without looking at the Argonian.

"I haven't told anyone if your wondering, and I'm not going too. But... What exactly are you?" She muttered hesitantly.

"I'm what I told you,_ a Conduit_. Vaermina uses me to access this world basically." Tanz explained. He knew how bad it sounded. He was giving a Daedric Prince access to Skyrim, and there was no way to sugar-coat it.

"And you have someone living... In your head?" She asked softly. Tanz grunted as he launched a firebolt into the target.

"Yes, his name is Bros." Tanz answered.

"Should I introduce myself?" Bros asked nonchalantly. Tanz looked around the courtyard. The two were alone, there was nobody to see but he wasn't entirely sure if he should.

"Later." Tanz muttered quickly. He couldn't risk anyone else finding out about him and Bros.

"Are there others like you?" She asked. Tanz nodded and closed and set down the tome. He begun launching different spells into the magicka well. He started with weaker spells, and worked his way up in difficulty.

"Yes, but I don't know where." Tanz said as he launched a ball of fire at the well, the blue orb absorbed the light and the flames vanished into the target.

"What are you doing?" The She-Elf asked, another ball of flame flying above the snow and into the well. Tanz prepared a shard of ice and launched it at the orb.

"Preparing, I'm going to Quagmire tonight." Tanz answered. He hasn't thought of what to say to her, so he decided to simply tell the truth. It would be better in the long run. The Dunmer scowled and took a step forward.

"What! The Daedric realm?" She asked with surprised concern.

"I'm not a full Conduit, I have to take these trials to become a full Conduit." Tanz explained calmly. "As a full Conduit, I'll have a permanently granted power for the rest of my life."

"What's the power?" She asked, now with a peculiar curiosity. Her tone had changed. It had been concern and slight anger before, but now it was curiosity and interest.

"An infinite magicka reserve, and possibly more." Tanz answered. He had gone through most of the destruction spells he had known, all that was left was the 'Wall of Flames' spell. The instructions were to aim his hand diagonally at the ground, cast, and then bring his hand up in an arc. He did as instructed and aimed his opened hand at the ground. He concentrated the energy to his arm and an intense arm of flame raced toward the ground. He raised his hand upward and columns of fire raced toward the orb. Within seconds, the columns had reached the orb and absorbed by the well. "I have that power now, but my trial determines whether I keep it or not.

"Its odd how Vaermina gave you that power and you became a mage." Brelyna said thoughtfully.

"Well, Vaermina selected me to be a Conduit at birth, she can see a Conduit's entire life from start to finish." Tanz recalled. Bros had told Tanz everything he would need to know, during their trek from Whiterun to Windhelm. Vaermina would select a Conduit at birth. At the end of their trials, they can choose to either become a full Conduit and receive their entirety of their powers, living out the rest of their lives as a portal connecting Vaermina to Nirn. If they decide not to become a Conduit, they won't receive their powers, and not be used as a portal. Although average people would decide not to be a Conduit, Vaermina would pick people seeking power that would accept the role as a Conduit.

"So, these trials. What kind of tests are they?" Brelyna asked.

"My first trials were mainly Physical, I don't know what the next will be though." Tanz said. "I just hope I make it through the trials themselves."

"If you fail the trial?" Brelyna added.

"The only way I could fail is if I died." Tanz answered. "I can refuse to take them, but that would forfeit my powers."

The sun had set and a chilling wind had flown in from the sea, freezing the two mages too the bone. Winterhold was one of the coldest places in Skyrim, and its nights were the worst. A full night in this would kill a man. And Skyrim's blizzards could kill someone within minutes.

"It's late, we should get inside." Tanz said and shivered as he looked up at the night sky. Tanz wasn't entirely used to the cold yet, but he was sure he would get accustomed to it eventually.

"Right. So, your going to take your trials tonight?" The She-Elf asked as the two walked over to the wooden door.

"Yes."

"And what are you going to do about the Vigilants of Stendarr?" She asked.

"The what?" Tanz asked.

"The Vigilants of Stendarr, they hunt Daedra and other things like that. They may be looking for people like you." She said. Tanz looked down at the ground, as he always did when he was thinking.

"Gods, I don't know what to do with all of this." Tanz's shoulders slumped and he sighed angrily. "First, I'm being hunted by assassins, now, I'm being hunted by a group of Daedra hunters..." He paused to collect his thoughts. "I'll figure this out later, all I need to do right now is concentrate on surviving my trials."

"Look I won't tell anyone, but _you_ should tell the Arch-Mage anyways." Brelyna argued. "He may be able to help." She had a point. Savos could provide protection from the assassins and Vigilants.

"I'll think about it." Tanz said. He pushed open the door and they walked in. The others were asleep, and the Argonian and Dunmer silently slipped into their room sand laid down in their beds. Tanz was nervous about his trials, but if he could get through them, he would have one less thing to worry about. He leaned back in his bed and his eyes became heavy. He yawned and closed his eyes.

"Are you ready?" Bros asked, sensing the Argonian's stress. Tanz nodded and gulped.

"Ready as I'll ever be..." Tanz whispered, barely audible. He closed his eyes and his mind shut down. Soon he would be in Quagmire, a nightmarish realm of horror and fear. His trials would likely be more difficult than anything he'd ever faced. Tanz quietly sighed, and a small amount of stress left his body. He slipped into a deep slumber, and his mind begun its journey through a dark and frightening realm...


	17. Standardized Testing

**Hello guys and gals, this is the latest chapter of Thaumaturge, and I'm happy to say I got this chapter done earlier than I've normally been finishing them. Anyways, in this chapter, Tanz faces his trials to become Vaermina's links to the mortal realm of Nirn. Enjoy the chapter and Read on!**

* * *

Tanz opened his eyes, and felt oddly cold. He was laying on his back in the center of a poorly-lit stone room. There were no windows and only one door on the far side of the room. Tanz picked himself up off the ground and turned toward the wooden door on the other side of the room. The room was completely empty, and the only exit was the door.

"Are you ready?" Bros asked. "How does your leg feel?" Tanz looked down at his leg. The wound was completely healed, and felt as it did before his fight with Cania. Tanz had his sword, dangling from his belt inside its sheath. He still had his college robes on, and his cowl pulled over his feathered head.

"I'm fine, lets get this over with." Tanz said quickly. He was slightly nervous, but he was mostly filled with anticipation and anxiety. He looked around the room once again and finally walked toward the door. He grasped the doorknob and opened the door.

He stepped through and entered an even larger room. On its far side was a old woman, sitting on a throne prominently, along with Bredich and Sadean and a group of other spirits. She looked to be in her fifties, and wore a flowing black robe. She gripped a staff in her left hand, and stared intimidatingly at Tanz. She looked him over from across the room and grinned. Even her smile was unnerving,

"Ah! Tanz, my newest Conduit." She said, waving him over. Her voice was raspy, and oddly friendly, but her presence alone was frightening. Tanz hesitantly walked forward, toward the throne. A red carpet led from the entrance to the throne where Vaermina sat. The room was mostly empty, and the throne, that sat atop a stone platform, was the only thing there.

"Vaermina I assume?." Tanz asked. Last time he visited Quagmire, it had taken four days, though it had been a few ours in the Oblivion realm. Tanz approached the throne and stopped a few feet away. Bredich and Sadean, the two Conduit spirits he had met before, stood by the platform, silently watching. Bredich was an Imperial, and had a boastful expression on his face. All of the spirits were a glowing, transparent blue color, and displayed no color. He imagined him with brown hair, and green eyes.

Sadean was a Redguard, and would've had their characteristic skin tone, a dark brown or red. Tanz hadn't seen Bros since his first visit, and had mostly forgotten what he looked like. Tanz looked over at the other spirits, presumably other past Conduits. He saw a mix of all species: Nords, Imperials, Bretons, Elves, Khajits, and Argonians. There were about thirty of the Conduits standing around in the room, watching the future Conduit with curiosity.

Vaermina smiled in an unnerving way. "We'll aren't you perceptive." Tanz held a straight face. The room became uncomfortably silent and a few seconds passed. "And Bros, you can come out of the boy's head for now, he will have to face this alone."

Tanz summoned Bros from his mind and a cold feeling receded from his head. Bros appeared in front of him. Tanz had known he was a Nord, but he had to look him over his features again. Bros had on a robe with a hood, that all the Conduits oddly wore. He had long hair and a closely shaven beard. If he wasn't completely blue, he seemed like he would have dark blonde hair.

"Milady." Bros said with a slight bow. She nodded politely and gestured for him to join the crowd of Conduits. He did, and strode over into the group, merging with the sea of blue spirits.

"Tanz Huleed. Do you accept the role as a Conduit, and to heed my call when needed?" Vaermina asked.

"I do." Tanz said with a nod. Tanz just wanted the power, he would do whatever it took to get it.

"And do you know the consequences of... _failing _your trials?" She asked, putting an eerie emphasis on _failing._

"No need to sugarcoat it, I know what happens if I *fail* my trials."

"Very well then. I hope you're prepared for your them, they're unlike anything you've faced before." She said. Tanz scoffed. He'd faced a dragon, draugr, an assassin, and bandits, and had come out fine... well mostly... He was confident that he could handle anything she could throw at him.

"I can handle them." He said confidently. Her smile faded and her face took on a serious look.

"We'll see." She said. Without warning, a purple light enveloped him and the air was sucked from his lungs. He dropped onto his chest and collided with something hard. He opened his eyes and found himself on his stomach. He pulled himself up and rested on his knee. A flickering light lit up the small space he was in. He looked over and found a torch in a sconce. The ground, walls, and ceiling were stone, like a cave. In front and behind him was nothing but blackness, the fire slowly faded away and went out, and the cave became engulfed in darkness.

Tanz held his hand up and a ball of fire manifested in his hand, creating enough light for him to see a few feet ahead. Tanz proceeded to walk down the hallway for a minute before hearing a screech and his stomach turned to ice. He stopped mid-stride and glanced over his shoulder. He turned and held out the ball of fire that hung suspended above his palm. The darkness receded slightly, but not enough for him to see anything.

Tanz turned back to walk down the hallway, and after about a minute the screech reverberated throughout the tunnel, closer this time. This repeated for a while, until the screech seemed to be right in front of him. Tanz got an idea, and prepared a firebolt in his left hand. He aimed down the length of the cavern and launched the ball of fire down the way. The bolt raced on through the tunnel, faintly illuminating sections of the cave as it went, until finally Tanz saw something. For a brief moment, he made out a figure in the distance. It was a person, it looked like, crouching on the ground, staring at Tanz with black, merciless eyes, devoid of all emotion but bloodlust.

Tanz eyes had just started to adjust to the light when the bolt raced over the creature, casting a long, elongated silhouette back toward Tanz. It stared into Tanz's eyes, promising his demise with a vice-like stare. Tanz's heart thumped wildly in his chest, and he took a staggered step back. Tanz's eyes went wide with terror, and the horrid creature howled again. It looked back at Tanz, its eyes like the dragon from Helgan, promising his death and complete destruction.

The creature screeched and bolted toward Tanz. Tanz, adrenaline pumping frantically through his veins, cast a flame spell that filled the cave with red-hot fire. Another screech rang out, and Tanz relaxed slightly as the scream faded and died. But just as Tanz stopped casting, a figure leaped out of the flames and slammed into Tanz with a help. Tanz fell onto his back and he flailed about in fear and panic, waving his arms in all directions in an attempt to ward the creature away. After a moment, Tanz calmed down, and noticed the beast was gone. He lifted himself up quickly, ready to defend himself. He heard the rumble of footsteps running in the opposite direction.

Tanz prepared firebolts in his hands and launched them simultaneously down the tunnel. After a few seconds the flames burnt out, and the tunnel descended back into darkness. Another screeched sounded, and Tanz gritted his teeth. He pulled his word from its sheath and held it up with one hand, using his other for his flame spell. Tanz slowly advanced down the hall, sword raised and ready to attack. Something shifted in the darkness and Tanz took a wary step backwards. Tanz rushed forward and swung his sword in a arc, and hit something solid. The creature shrieked and leaped away, blood leaking from its chest. Tanz charged forward and rammed the sword into its stomach.

It released a shrill cry and knocked Tanz back with a swipe of its fist, leaving his sword imbedded in its chest. Tanz fell onto his back and finally took a clear look at the monster. It it looked similiar to a draugr, but had dark brown, decaying skin, and blue eyes. It stared down at Tanz with hatred, and Tanz's sword sat, sticking out of its chest.

Tanz crawled backward and cast a volley of ice shards into its torso. Three of them impacted, and the beast stumbled backward. Tanz rose up and surged toward the monster, grabbing his sword's hilt. He clutched his sword's hilt with both hands and yanked it out of the creatures's flesh, a spray of blood spurting from the wound. Tanz leaped back and spun on his heels, finally swinging the sword in a horizontal swipe. The blade cut through the beast and Tanz heard a sickening _crack_ as bone snapped. The monster split in two and fell onto the ground in pieces.

A pool of blood leaked from the carcass as Tanz stood, breathless. He panted, and finally fell to his knees. The adrenaline had worn off, and Tanz's exhaustion and pain had caught up with him. His chest hurt from the blows he had received, and his legs ached from trembling. After a moment another portal enveloped him, and Tanz teleported to another area. The light receded and Tanz found himself on his knees, behind a giant boulder. Tanz rose off the ground and glanced up at the monolithic boulder.

It was about twice as tall at Tanz, and three times as wide. He stood and walked to the left of the boulder. He looked past its rugged edge and saw an entire field of similar boulders. He glanced up and noticed a giant dome overhead, and curving stone walls, lined with torches. He was in an arena.

Tanz walked out from behind the boulder and a flash of orange light filled his vision. The next thing he knew, he was on his back, and a crater sat in front of where he had just stood.

"What...?" Tanz said, looking around for the source of the blast. Tanz stood up and warily walked over to the crater, staying behind the cover of the boulder. The boulder was about a foot deep at the deepest point, and four feet wide. Smoke rose from the smoldering pit in columns. Tanz peeked around the edge of the boulder, scanning the area for the source of the blast. At the center of the arena, a small platform with a pedestal atop sat with a crystal hovering above it. Tanz took a step out of cover and the crystal started to glow. Tanz squinted to look at the glowing crystal. Just has the glowing seemed to intensify, a ball of fire shot out and raced toward Tanz.

Tanz raised his hands, casting a ward. The fireball slammed into the shield and exploded, throwing Tanz back into the arena wall. Tanz grunted as he slumped down onto the ground. He opened his eyes and saw another fireball racing toward him. He rolled to his right, behind another boulder. He pushed himself up and pressed his back to the rock.

"I'll shed some light on this," Bredich's voice boomed, as if from nowhere, _"Grab the crystal!" _Tanz looked around for Bredich, the former Conduit and overseer of Conduit trials. He spotted him on a higher level, along with rest of the conduits, and Vaermina herself.

Tanz looked around the corner and up at the crystal. He understood now. The objective of this trial is to get the crystal, using the boulders to advance. Tanz looked for the nearest boulder, and rushed out of cover. Another fireball raced towards the speeding Argonian, missed, and blew a chunk of stone into bits. Tanz ran behind the boulder, waited a few seconds to catch his breath, and ran to another boulder. Tanz peered around the boulder's edge and a fireball slammed onto the ground, obliterating chunks of stone, startling the Argonian hiding nearby.

Tanz turned to step out in the opposite direction, but as soon as he did, another fireball blew apart another chunk of stone. "Damn." Tanz muttered angrily. Thats when he noticed: the crystal could only fire every four seconds. He turned, back to the wall, and opened his palm. A blue orb manifested above his hand. He focused the energy into his hand and aimed at the ground. He charged the spell and cast the orb at the ground. A portal appeared, and Fera floated out, hovering gently above the stone floor.

The atronach tilted her head and looked at Tanz expectantly. He pointed off to his right Fera sat, waiting.

"_Fera, Go_!" He commanded, and she eagerly floated off, out from behind the boulder. After a few seconds, a volley of fireballs,flew out and obliterated the area around Fera. Tanz turned and sprinted off as fast as he could toward the crystal. He could see it, hurling balls of fire at Fera, one after another. Tanz had almost reached the platform when a fireball slammed into the ground in front of him, blowing bits of stone onto his face.

Tanz came to an abrupt halt and turned to run, but another fireball came at him, to fast to dodge. Tanz turned on his heel, crouched down, making himself a fraction of his normal size, and cast a barrier spell. He fireball sped toward him, and as it impacted, Tanz discharged the barrier, sending a blast of fire upwards, into the ceiling. The blast slammed into the stone ceiling, sending stone and dust falling down to the floor below.

Tanz stood and sprinted off toward the crystal, not thinking, but acting. _Four_. He counted, running as fast as he could. He passed by the remaining boulders, closest to the platform. He sighted the stairs that led up to the pedestal and leaned forward. As a child, when he had went outside the town's walls to hunt, he learned that leaning forward could increase your speed slightly, it lessened air resistance and shifted more weight forward. _Three_. Tanz counted, two meters from the platform.

Still sprinting, Tanz reached the steps, and begun his ascension to the top. Tanz climbed up the steps and reached out, _Two! _Tanz reached out and grasped the crystal, just as its blue tint intensified, glowing brighter by the millisecond. He yanked it from its invisible perch and pulled it toward his chest, its radiant glow fading away. Tanz panted, staring into the crystals opaque surface. A slow, unenthusiastic clapping filled the arena. Tanz looked over at the crowd of Conduits, and Vaermina, who stood, unimpressed, and clapping slowly.

Tanz scowled slightly, and another portal opened. Tanz stepped through and entered a similar but smaller arena. He entered on one side, and looked around the perimeter of the arena. A staff, surrounded by a magical, red shield sat in the center of the space. It was a dark grey color, and a horned skull sat stop it, staring directly at Tanz. Up above the walls of the arena, the past Conduits and Vaermina stood, watching, Bros with an unsettlingly worried expression.

Tanz walked out, and laid a hand on the shield. It gently vibrated, but steadily increased in it speed. Tanz stepped back, and the the outlining of a person developed. Dust gathered together, progressively becoming larger and larger. It eventually collected into feet, then legs, hips, a torso, arms, a neck, and finally a head. The grey mass formed completely together, gathering the last bits of particles and dust. They solidified, and colors distinguished. Tanz looked as the head as it changed shape, forming a snout, horns, and lastly... blood red feathers. Color washed over the entire 'person' and clothing materialized. Tanz recognized the clothing as the same that he wore.

The face finally formed, and Tanz looked upon the features that he himself held. His opponent... was _him_. Tanz looked upon his own face, that smiled wickedly at him. Tanz looked up at Vaermina, who's smile had grown bigger than seemingly possible.

"All past Conduits had generally the same reaction, but its just as satisfying every time." She said happily. Tanz looked back down at his clone, who had drawn his sword in one hand, and a flames engulfed the other. It was remarkable, every last detail was exactly the same. Tanz had no doubt it even had the scar on his arm that he had gotten when he was eight, when he tripped chasing a rabbit.

Tanz stared at the figure in disbelief while it stared back at him, trembling with excitement.

"What are you?" Tanz asked, dumbfounded.

The figure smiled and let out a quiet chuckle. "You."

* * *

**Sorry about the cliffhanger, hehe. 60% percent of the next chapter will be about his fight with *gasp* himself! And yes I've crunched the numbers...**


	18. Doppelgänger

**Hello everyone! This is the latest installment of Thaumatuge! Now, I'll admit this isn't my best work, but I hope you like this chapter anyways. And remember, if you have any advice about anything please share it! In this chapter, Tanz faces his greatest foe yet. Himself. Read on!**

"Your me?" Tanz asked. The Copy nodded and smirked.

"Yes, I'm you. Skills, memories, and all." The Copy answered, tapping a finger against his temple. He raised his sword and assumed a fighting stance, just as a light spread out along his skin and clothing. "Now... prepare yourself."

Tanz clenched his fists, and pulled his sword from its sheath. Tanz scowled, if he was fighting himself, he'd have to pull out all the stops to complete this trial. Tanz raised his sword and prepared a barrier in his left arm.

"Right then." Tanz said. The Copy grinned and charged, closing in on Tanz. Tanz raised the barrier and prepared for the incoming attack. The Copy jumped to the side and swung the blade at the shield. The sword impacted on the barrier and Tanz discharged. The doppelgänger spun as the sword was pushed backward, and swung around, on the other side of the shield. Tanz parried with his sword and swung. The Copy dodged, and Tanz spewed shards of ice from his palm. The Copy cast a ward and the shards shattered against the magical wall.

"That all you've got? I thought the the real me would be more of a challenge." The Copy mocked.

"Why you little..." Tanz said angrily.

"Little what?" The Copy snickered, "You realize your insulting yourself, right?" Tanz frowned, sheathed his sword, and pulled both hands together. *Nows the time to try out my new spell.* Tanz transferred energy to his hands and a wall of fire surged from his hands, filling the entire space in front of him, and covering the shield that guarded the staff. The Copy's eyes widened and he grimaced as he cast wards with both hands. The flames rammed into the wards, and the blue shields dissipated. The flames swallowed the Copy and after a moment, subsided. The Copy still stood, but the clothing and scales were blackened from the flames.

"How...?" Tanz muttered, and the Copy snickered and charged again at Tanz. Tanz continued to spew flames from his palms, but eventually the Copy closed in and Tanz unsheathed his sword, just in time to block another attack. Tanz blocked, and stumbled backward from the swipe. His back collided with the shield and the light flickered, weakening almost. Tanz looked over his shoulder, just as another swing came at him. Tanz rolled to his left, and the sword slammed against the shield, and again it flickered. Tanz glanced at the shield and readied his sword. That's when he noticed the Copy had the same glow that the draugr in Saarthal had. A magical shield.

Tanz assumed it had the same affects too. The draugr in Saarthal was immune to physical and magical attacks. Nothing had affected it until Tolfdir brought down the barrier. Tanz hadn't seen how though, which would make this fight that much harder. Tanz charged over to his Copy, and raised his sword above his head. The Copy braced, holding the sword horizontally. Tanz brought the sword down and steel clattered against steel.

Tanz pulled back and backed away from the Copy. The Copy rushed toward Tanz and swung his word in an arc. Tanz turned around and ran toward the magical barrier that surrounded the staff. The Copy chased after him, and Tanz reached the shield. He turned and waited. The Copy caught up and swung at Tanz. The mage cast a barrier that blocked the attack, but the Copy recovered and swung again.

Tanz turned and jumped over the shield, and the sword slammed into the barrier. The barrier shimmered and weakened as the Copy's sword stabbed into the shield. Tanz slid down the other side of the shield. He turned and drove his own blade into the already weakened shield. The tip broke through the barrier, and the shield collapsed into itself. Tanz reached out and grasped the staff. He pulled the staff from its perch just as the Copy swung his sword at Tanz. Tanz jumped backward, but landed wrong, and fell onto his back, still holding the staff. The mage clutched the staff with both hands as the Copy brought his sword down onto the metal staff. Tanz pushed back up and rolled to his left, and shot up.

Tanz looked over the Copy and noticed the shield was gone. The staff must have been protecting the Copy. Tanz held his sword in one hand and the staff in the other. Tanz aimed the staff at the Copy and waited for something to happen. The Copy stood, waiting for the attack that never came. Tanz looked over the staff and realized: he had no idea how to use it.

"Pathetic..." The Copy sighed, "I can't believe I'm a Copy of you." Tanz snarled as he threw the staff to the ground. He clutched the sword in his right hand and raised his left as a ball of fire formed in his palm. Tanz transferred energy to his hand and a firebolt through the air toward the Copy. The blast connected, and the Copy slammed into the stone wall behind him, sending a puff of dust into the air. Tanz rushed over in a rage, ready to deliver the killing blow. Just as the dust had started to settle, the Copy leapt from the dust cloud and tackled Tanz to the ground. The Copy knocked Tanz's sword from his grasp and kneed Tanz in the chest.

Tanz coughed as the Copy punched him in the stomach. The Copy stood up and grasped his sword. He walked back over to Tanz, who lay on the ground, clutching his chest.

"Shameful... What would you expect from an orphan, living on the streets of a backwater town." The Copy stated mockingly, "It's surprising you've come this far in the first place." The Copy thrust his foot into Tanz's rib cage and raised his sword high above his head. As the Copy prepared to deliver the final strike, Tanz raised his hand, launching the Copy's sword from his grasp with a telekinetic blast. The Copy watched as the sword rose into the air and fell back down, clattering against the stone floor. Tanz struggled to his feet and grasped his sword in his right hand.

Tanz raised his left arm and cast a lightning stream into the Copy's chest, just as the Copy launched an ice shard into Tanz's. The current raced through the Copy's body and finally slumped to his knees. Tanz looked down and found a ice shard embedded in his stomach. A trickle of blood wept from the wound and dripped onto the floor. Tanz grunted and shambled over to the Copy.

As Tanz plodded across the small space between him and the Copy, the pain from the past three trials kicked in. Tanz's chest and legs ached, and his head hurt from a blow he had suffered during the second trial. Tanz slowly closed the gap between himself and his foe, and finally stood over the Copy. Tanz raised his sword high into the air and looked down upon the Copy, whose eyes stared back up at him pleadingly.

Tanz gripped his sword tightly and brought it down on the Copy's chest. The Copy's eyes widened as the swords tip cut through his flesh, and he grunted as he died. The Copy began to glow and his scales took on a purple glow. The light intensified and suddenly faded. The Copy's corpse began to glow and slowly disintegrated, leaving a pile of ash, with a rectangular lump in the center. Tanz knelt down and sifted through the ashes. He ran a hand over the object and grasped the its side. He pulled it from the ash and noticed it was a book. It had the conjuration symbol on it, which he had seen in a class with Phinis, the conjuration teacher at the college. Tanz looked up at Vaermina, who was smiling.

Tanz winced as another portal opened and Tanz teleported to the throne room. He arrived in front of the throne, with the past Conduits standing off to the side. Vaermina sat in the throne patiently. The shard was gone from Tanz's chest, and his wounds healed. He held the tome in his right hand, and his sword in its sheath. A table with three tomes and a scroll sat in front of him. Tanz pointed a finger at the table and looked up at Vaermina.

"What are these for?" He asked. Vaermina gestured to the table and smirked.

"I normally give a reward to my Conduits after they pass their trials." She said. "After all, your no use to me dead." Tanz glanced over at the ghostly Conduits, who didn't seem at all offended. Tanz looked over the spell tomes on the table. The first and second were destruction spells, and the third was an Illusion spell. Tanz grasped the scroll and unrolled it. It was spell to defend against the undead. The scroll, when activated, would create a protective circle that could keep out the undead. It was basically a safe zone that protected the user against draugr and other undead. Tanz stored the items in his pockets and the table sank into the ground.

"We'll you've completed your trials, and came out... Mostly unharmed." Vaermina said. "So, you will keep your powers, and are now a Conduit."

"I was just thinking... If you can see every moment of a Conduit's life, can't you tell if a Conduit will or won't die during their trials?" Tanz asked.

"Yes, I can. I can see every Conduit's life, from start to end." She answered.

"So, how will I die?" Tanz questioned.

"I don't think you want to know." Vaermina answered with a smile.

"Now what?" Tanz asked. Bros stepped out from the crowd and approached Tanz's side. Tanz held out his hand and Bros grasped it. Bros disappeared and a blue energy washed across his arm and up to his head.

"Now you return to Nirn and continue living." She answered flatly. "Oh, and I'd hold onto that scroll." She raised her staff and then tapped the bottom end onto the ground. Another portal surrounded Tanz and once again, he left Quagmire.

* * *

Tanz woke up in his bed, blankets pulled up to his chest. He pushed them off and looked out into the common room. He didn't see anyone in any of the other rooms, so the other apprentices must have been attending their lessons. Tanz looked over his dresser, where the four tomes and scroll were neatly stacked on its edge. Tanz swung his legs over the edge of the bed and tried standing.

His leg was mostly healed and could support some of his weight. Probably another day or two and he could walk easily again. Tanz limped over to the dresser and picked up one of the tomes. It was the conjuration spell he had received after defeating his Copy. Tanz opened the tome and read through its contents.

"How long have I been asleep?" Tanz asked as he flipped through the pages.

"About four days, maybe five." Bros answered.

"You think anyone noticed I was gone?" Tanz asked.

"Hopefully not." Bros answered.

Tanz flipped through the pages a couple of times and finally put the book down. The spell would conjure a magical sword when cast. The spell was basically a substitute for a real one, and could be summoned at any time. Tanz stuck out his hand and slightly clenched his fist. A ball, similar to the one used to summon Fera, appeared in his clenched fist. The purple energy became darker and he released.

The ball quickly became brighter and expanded outward into the shape of a sword. Tanz grasped the sword and gave it a swing. The sword was much lighter than his steel sword. It was transparent, and a blue mist surrounded the blade's edge. Tanz released the spell and the sword faded away. Tanz turned around and grabbed the next tome. The next tome was a destruction spell. Tanz opened the book and skimmed through the pages a couple of times before setting it back down on his bed.

The spell was lightning based, and was much stronger than the one he knew now. The spell was a single, one strike attack that could reach almost three times the length of his current lightning spell. This new spell was more powerful, but took time to charge, where as his other spell was a steady stream of electricity. Tanz would test it out another time, for now he would just study the spells.

Tanz moved on to the last tome, another destruction spell. He picked it up by its spine and read through the pages. It was a last resort type of spell, used only in the most dire of circumstances. It was a flame spell, centered on the caster, it would basically create a massive explosion around the user. It took a long time to charge, and could be stopped while charging. Tanz set the tomes in the chest that lay at the foot of his bed and walked out into the common room. Tanz walked over toward the exit and pushed the double doors open. A cool breeze wafted into the dorm and Tanz shivered. He knew it would take a long time to get used to the coldness of Skyrim. But he would eventually, and now, he was content to just be able to walk again.


	19. Last time on

**Hello everyone! This is the largest chapter of Thaumaturge and I hope you like it. one more week school and I can finally spend more time writing! **

Two Weeks Later, 14th of Sun's Height

Tanz walked out of the Hall of the Elements along with the other apprentices. Their daily lectures had just ended and the apprentices walked about the college, whether heading to their rooms to study or to the inn for a tankard of mead. Tanz had never been drunk, nor had he ever planned on it, but he had grown fond of the drink's honey flavor. Since his trials, things had been mostly normal at the college.

The artifact from Saarthal had been moved into the Hall of the Elements for study and research. The teachers had been studying the newly named 'Eye of Magnus' for about a week, and had found next to nothing about the artifact. The teachers had been trying to keep the students from asking questions about the artifact. This was because they couldn't answer them, being as they hadn't discovered much about the Eye. Tanz and the rest of the apprentices had been visiting the Arcaneum on their own time to research the Eye, and just like the teachers, their research revealed no significant results.

Tanz had learned a few new spell in the last two weeks, a calming spell that pacified hostile creatures, some completely, and some only for so long. The issue with the Dark Brotherhood had been mostly forgotten, most of the teachers had forgotten from lack of interest, but a select few remained interested. The Arch-Mage, Mirabelle, and even the Jarl had taken an interest to Tanz in the past few weeks. Tanz hadn't the foggiest idea how the Jarl had discovered that an assassin had attacked a student, but there was nothing he could do about it now.

The Jarl had even offered to lend a escort to Tanz, one of Winterhold's few guards. Tanz doubted that the guard was meant to actually protect Tanz, but to watch him, maybe even find out why he was being targeted. Tanz had been dodging every question that surfaced regarding the assassin cult. The mage kindly refused the offer, claiming he was more than prepared for another attack. In truth, Tanz was utterly terrified of another attack. So much so that he could barely sleep.

Brelyna had kept Tanz's secret, and the two had returned to being good friends, and the five apprentices had become close. The biggest thing on Tanz mind was what Mirabelle had said a few days ago. She had suggested contacting General Tullius, the Military Governer, as they were actively hunting the cutthroats. Tanz had been rushing to come up with an explanation as to why the Dark Brotherhood were after him. He still hadn't worked out a story, so far he gotten by by just avoided the question.

"Tanz?" Trebon's voice sounded, pulling the young mage from his downward gaze.

"Hmm?" The Argonian grunted. Trebon looked at him oddly for moment.

"Do you wanna go up to the Arcaneum later? We could research more about the Eye." Trebon asked. Everyone had been calling the Eye of Magnus 'the Eye' for short lately. Tanz nodded halfheartedly, he still had to come up with an explanation for Cania. Tanz hoped that the Imperials wouldn't find out about the assassin, because if they did, he wouldn't have anything to tell them. Bros had warned Tanz about being a Conduit. That the Vigilants of Stendarr had also been hunting Conduits, because of their relations to Vaermina, a Daedric Prince.

"Sure, I'm not sure what good it'll do. We haven't found anything yet, and we've read almost half of the books in the Arcaneum." Tanz whined, earning a chuckle from Brelyna.

"I'm with the lizard. Lets go to the Frozen Hearth for a drink!" J'zargo said cheerfully. Tanz nodded along with him, albeit he disapproved the use of the word 'lizard'.

"It'll be easier to look through the books with more people." Brelyna protested. J'zargo sighed with resignation.

"Fine." The two agreed. Tanz stepped out onto the snow, and heard a crunch as his boot sank into the loosely pack snow. Tanz still had the boots and gauntlets he had received from Alvor, and wore the, every day. Even though they offered a substantial amount of protection, they also kept his hands and feet warm in the cold. Tanz found that he had adjusted to the cold and had become more accustomed to it. The buildings were kept as warm as possible, which also helped. Even in a blizzard, the space inside the courtyard was surprisingly calm, mostly because of the walls surrounding it, but that didn't keep all of the snow out. Almost every day a few inches to a few feet of snow would cover the ground.

Tanz had been practicing with his new spells and could wield them with great efficiency. The group walked back into the Hall of the Elements and up the stairs to the right. The five walked up the stairs and walked into the Arcaneum. Tanz looked across the library at Urag gro-Shub, the 'librarian' that watched over and managed the Arcaneum books. Tanz had been surprised when he had first met him, being as he was an Orc. Urag reminded Tanz of Makor, the Orc warrior he had met during his travels from Kresval to Skyrim. Urag greeted the, with a quite grunt and he returned to his work. The five spread out and picked out more books from the shelves and bookcases. They set them at a table and began to read through the books for a few minutes.

Tanz ran a hand along his snout and felt the scar he had recently gotten. He noticed it a few days after his trials, but couldn't recall how he'd received the mark. Nobody had asked about it, so Tanz didn't mind it. After a few minutes, a figure approached the table and Tanz looked up. Dalam Othren, one of the Dunmer students at the college, stood next to the table. Dalam was just like any other Dunmer, slightly taller than Brelyna, and the same dark complexion. The others took notice and Tanz looked at Dalam expectantly.

"Tolfdir wants to speak with the five of you in the Hall of the Elements." Dalam said.

"What does he want?" Onmund asked.

"I don't know, he just wants to talk to you." Dalam replied, and then looked at the books scattered across the table, "What are you doing anyways?"

"We're Looking for information on the Eye." Trebon answered.

"Maybe that's what he wants to talk to you about." Dalam said.

"Alright, lets see what this is about." Tanz said, standing up from his chair. The others followed and stood up. The five walked over to the stairwell and walked down to the lower level. As soon as they arrived, they heard Tolfdir speaking to himself about the Eye. He turned around when he heard them approach.

"Ah! Hello everyone. I was hoping you five could discuss your findings with me about the Eye." He said enthusiastically.

"Alright." Brelyna said. The five mages spread out into the room as Tolfdir circled the orb.

"Im sure you all have already noticed the markings, they're unlike anything we've ever seen before. Ayleid? Dwemer? Daedric? Not even Falmer! None of the, are a match. It's quite curious indeed. Now I'm not sure any of you are as attuned as I am, givenmu extensive years of experience, but can you feel that? This marvelous object, it practically radiates magicka! And yet its unlike anything I've ever felt before." He stopped and stared at the orb floating in front of him. "Arch-Mage Aran is already hard at work researching the eye. Hopefully we'll have more information soon. Have you found anything of significance from your research.

"The only references we found were in one book, _Night of Tears_." Brelyna chimed in.

"That does sound familiar... Now I-" Tolfdir said when a voice interrupted. Tanz turned around and saw an Altmer, standing by the stairwell. He was tall like most of his kind, and wore black, hooded robes with gold detailing. The hood was pulled over his head, but Tanz could still see his power hungry eyes. This must have been Ancano, the Thalmor that had been invited by the Arch-Mage. Tanz hadn't met him yet, but he had heard students talking about him and his paranoid personality.

"Im afraid I must interrupt." The Altmer said annoyance evident in his militant voice. "I must speak with one of your students immediately." He pointed at Tanz with a gauntleted finger, and ushered him over with a wave.

"This is most inappropriate! We are involved in serious research here!" The elder said angrily.

"Yes, I have no doubt of its gravity, this however, is a matter that cannot wait." The Thalmor said, already frustrated.

"We'll I'm sure I've never bee interrupted like this before. The audacity!" Tolfdir said, furious. He sighed and ushered for Tanz to go and mumbled something incoherent. "Fine, well continue this later, when we can avoid interruptions..." Tolfdir turned away and walked toward the exit, a scowl on his lips. Ancano turned to Tanz and ushered him toward the Arch-Mage's quarters.

"I don't understand what's going on..." Tanz protested. Ancano raised an eyebrow and frowned.

"Really? Then let me clarify the situation. I'd like to know why there's someone claiming to be from the Psijic Order here in the college. More importantly, I'd like to know why he's asking for you so specifically. So we're going to go have a chat with him to find out *exactly* what it is he wants." The Elf said, glaring daggers at the young mage before him. Tanz winced. Psijics? The last time he spoke to a Psijic was at Saarthal. The Psijic ther had warned him about danger ahead, and that Tanz was the only one that could stop it. And now they were back?

"Why are you so concerned about this?" Tanz asked, still confused. He turned to look back at his friends who looked equally befuddled.

"Oh, I'll be the one asking questions." Ancano stated, "All you need to know is that the Psijic Order is a rogue organization. Both feeling themselves to be above the law. They have clashed with the Aldemeri Dominion before, and I have no intention of allowing that to happen here! _Now,_ _follow. Me._" The Elf turned and strode toward the stairwell. Tanz shrugged and followed after him. "Now, you are going to speak to this... Monk... And find out why he is here, and then he will be removed from college grounds."

The two walked up the stairs quickly, Tanz struggled to keep pace with the Thalmor. Tanz didn't know much about the Thalmor, besides what most educated citizens knew. The Aldemeri Dominion and the Empire had fought a war that lasted years, and finally ended with the signing of the White-Gold Concordant. The war was mostly in favor of the Aldemeri Dominion, who had almost defeated the Empire. The Treaty that ended the conflict stated that the worship of Talos, which had also caused the war, would be banished, and the Aldemeri Dominion would halt their attack, sparing their helpless enemies.

The dominion argued that Talos, or Tiber Septim the first, could not be worshiped because he was a mortal, and that mortals could not be worshiped. After the White-Gold Concordant was signed, the Thalmor were assigned to uncover Talos worshipers, and arrest them. That was at least Tanz's understanding of the war. Tanz had tried to teach himself as a child, though Gren initially taught him to read and write. Tanz borrowed books from every citizen in Kresval, just to read them, to gain more knowledge, as he was always eager to learn.

Tanz especially enjoyed training with a dagger. Gren was the reason he could fight at all, he had given him an old dagger, and taught him to fight with it. Tanz had used the knife to hunt for rabbits and small animals. He would catch them and sell them to the butcher. Tanz's had developed his speed and agility from chasing rabbits. He had caught and elk once or twice. The first time Tanz had actually had to defend himself was one time when he was hunting. He had been following a rabbit and had lost it. He scoured the area outside the walls of the town in a nearby forest, looking for the animal. As he was hunting he heard a single howl, and a black creature darted out from behind a tree. It was an old wolf, if it had been young Tanz probably wouldn't have survived. The wolf had been abandoned by its pack, at least that's what he suspected.

The wolf attacked Tanz, and in the end, Tanz prevailed, he received a minor scratch, but he had been so scared of the wolf. But it was the first time Tanz had felt adrenaline flowing through his veins, and he loved the rush. This was before he had taken an interest to magic. A young boy taking on a wolf and winning? Tanz was proud to say he had won, though a pack of wolves wouldn't be challenge now, one was then. Tanz ate for a week off of the money he made from the wolf's pelt and meat. The butcher had paid him nicely, and in the end Tanz had benefited from the experience. When Tanz was older, about fifteen, he actually set out to find animals to fight. He had found a few wolves to fight, but not much else.

Tanz and Ancano reached the top of the stairs and stepped out into the Arch-Mages quarters. Across the room, Savos and the presumably the Psijic were talking. The two walked over and stopped in front of the Psijic. Tanz recognized him as the same man he had encountered in Saarthal. Suddenly all colors began to fade, and the room took on a blue-gray color. Savos and Ancano froze, but Tanz seemed to be able to move still. The Psijic walked toward Tanz and flashed a half-grin.

"Its good to finally meet you in person." He said. Tanz looked over at Savos and Ancano and gestured to their frozen bodies.

"What's going on? What happened to them?" Tanz asked.

"I'd simply like to talk to you." The Elf responded. "I've given us a chance to speak privately, but I'm afraid I can't do this for long. We must be brief. The situation here at your college is of dire importance, and attempts to contact you as we have previously have failed. I believe it is to the very source of our concern. This object... The Eye of Magnus as your people have been calling it. The energy coming from it has prevented us from reaching you with the visions you have already seen. The longer it remains here, the more dangerous the situation becomes. And so I have come her personally to tell you it must be dealt with." The Elf explained. Tanz listened intently before another questions popped into his head.

"If this is dangerous, why don't you do something about it?" Tanz asked.

"I'm afraid its not _that_ simple. You must understand, the Psijic Order does not typically... Intervene directly in events." The Elf stated. "My prescience here will be seen as an affront to some within the Order, and as soon as we have finished, I will be leaving your college. I'm also aware my arrival has aroused suspicion, especially in Ancano, your Thalmor associate. Nevertheless, my Order will not act directly. You must take it upon yourself to do so."

"So, what exactly is the problem?" Tanz asked.

"As you may have learned, this object, 'the Eye' is immensely powerful. The world is not ready for it. If it remains here, it will be misused. Indeed, many in the Order believe it has already, rather something will happen soon, something that cannot be avoided."

"What do you expect from me then?"

"We believe that your efforts should be directed towards dealing with the aftermath, but we cannot predict was that will be. I fear I have already overstepped the bounds of my Order, but I will offer this: seek out the Augur of Dunlain here in your college. His perception may be more coherent than ours."

"Why should I trust you or your order?" Tanz questioned.

"I presume you refer to Ancano's distaste to the Psijic Order. The Thalmor see our existence as a threat, because we have power, and we will not allow the, to control us. I assure you we mean you no harm." The Elf said. Tanz thought a moment before asking another question.

"Who is Augur of Dunlain?" Tanz asked.

"He was once a student here at the college, now he is... Something different."

"Where can I find this... 'Augur'?" The monk looked as if he was going to answer, but then looked unsure of himself.

"I... I am unsure. He is somewhere within the college. Surely one of your colleagues will no his location. I am sorry I cannot provide you with further help, but this conversation requires a great deal of effort on my part. Now, I'm afraid I must leave you, we will continue to watch over you, and guide you the best we can. It is within _you _to succeed, never forget that." The Elf said. As he finished the colors seeped back into their places, and Savos and Ancano unfroze.

"What is the meaning of this?" Ancano said. The monk looked confused as he looked at the Altmer in front of him.

"I'm sorry, I'm afraid I don't understand." He said.

"Don't play coy, you asked to see a specific member of the college, here he is. Now, what is it that you want?" The Thalmor said.

"There's been a misunderstanding. Clearly I should not be here, I shall simply take my leave." He said.

"What! What trickery is this? You're not going anywhere until I find out what you're up to!" Ancano said angrily.

"I am not 'up to' anything. I apologize if I have offended you in any way." The Psijic stated. Ancano glared at the monk, and folded his arms. He looked at Tanz and then back to the monk.

"We shall see about this..." He said. Savos looked between the two as they walked away, and then looked to Tanz.

"I'm... I'm not sure what just happened..." He said. Tanz turned to walk away, but turned back to the Dunmer after remembering the Augur.

"Have you ever heard of the Augur of Dunlain?" Tanz asked. The Dunmer rolled his eyes and scoffed.

"Has Tolfdir been telling stories again? I thought I made it quite clear that this was a subject inappropriate for conversation." Savos said, as if he'd answered the question before. "Please, don't allow him to continue to discuss the subject. Now if you'll excuse me." The Dunmer turned away and strode over to an alchemy lab and picked up a mortar and pestle, and started grinding up a flower. Tanz turned and traipsed toward the stairs and climbed down to the Hall of the Elements.

"Tolfdir..." Tanz said to himself. Tanz walked down the stairs and into the main chamber that housed the Eye. Tolfdir stood by the orb, scribbling notes into a book, possibly taking notes on the Eye. Tanz walked over and Tolfdir the elder looked up from his book.

"Hello my boy!" He said politely. "Your friends are back in their rooms if you were looking for them." Tanz looked around the room before turning back to the Nord.

"I was actually looking for you. I need to know about the Augur of Dunlain." Tanz said. Tolfdir looked at him oddly.

"Well now, that's a name I haven't heard in quite some time. My goodness it's been years since I've spoken with him. I suppose he's still down in the midden, but I haven't checked. Are you going to see him? Do tell him hello from me, wont you?" Tolfdir said, rambling.

"Hold up. The midden?" Tanz asked.

"The midden is underneath the college, it's not the safest place so if you go down there, please do be careful." Tolfdir said. Tanz rubbed his snout with his hand and sighed.

"How can I get there?" Tanz asked.

"There's a trapdoor outside, just walk out to you right when you enter the courtyard." Tolfdir answered. Tanz turned toward the door, then back at Tolfdir.

"Alright." Tanz said, and immediately started off toward the door. He strode out into the cold and followed the directions given to him by Tolfdir. He found a wooden door that sat in the corner of the courtyard, and lifted it up. As Tanz pulled the door up, dust and dirt rose into the air and filled his vision. The door hasn't been used in a long time it seemed. Tanz peered down into the cave and finally, jumped down into the dark recesses of the midden.


	20. Unturned Stones

**Ugh... That took a while. Anyways, this is the latest installment of Thaumaturge! I know it took forever to get this up but my Internet connection was messed up and I couldn't connect to anything. Well here's chapter 20? I think?Alright I hope you like this chapter and enjoy. Read on my brothers and sisters!**

Tanz climbed down the ladder and turned to look down a long hall made of stone and ice. It was even colder down there than above ground. Tanz shivered and held his palm out. After a few seconds a small flame materialized above his hand, providing warmth and light. Tanz proceeded slowly down the hall and rounded a corner. He entered another long, but empty, room. Besides dust, the only other things in the room were a pile of lumber and a wooden cart. Tanz looked for a door and saw an exit at the other side of the hall. But there was one problem. The door was completely inaccessible, as a wall of ice covered the entirety of the doorway.

Tanz stepped forward and took a casting stance. Feet spread out, legs stiff, and arms and hands held away from the body. Tanz held his hands outstretched and open, and felt a rush of heat flow to his palms. Tanz cast a wall of fire at the ice and it slowly melted away. After a minute of continues casting, Tanz stopped to view his progress. The ice had barely melted, and at this rate, it would take him hours to clear away the ice. Tanz looked around for another way through, but only saw the lumber and cart. Tanz walked over to the pile of lumber and picked a few pieces up. He picked up as many pieces as he could and walked over to the cart. He stacked the, on the cart and wheeled it over to the center of the room.

Tanz turned it so I he could push it into the ice-covered door and stepped away from the cart. Tanz prepared a fire spell and cast a stream of fire at the cart. The cart caught fire and Tanz heard felt the warmth of the fire and stood for a second, enjoying it. Tanz waited until the cart had almost completely caught on fire, and kicked the cart toward the wall of ice. The cart slammed into the wall and immediately begun melting, at a much greater rate than it had before. Tanz cast a flame spell at the ice with both hands and within a few minutes, the ice had melted to the point of brittleness.

Tanz walked over toward the ice had held out his hand. He opened his hand and conjured a sword. The sword appeared in his hand, and shone a transparent violet. Tanz readied his sword arm and drove the spectral sword's tip into the ice. The tip sank into the ice and cracked. Tanz pushed the sword deeper and deeper and finally released the conjuration. The sword dissipated and disappeared, leaving a large crack in the ice. Tanz placed his hand on the wall of ice and discharged a barrier.

The ice shattered and fell to the ground in tiny crystals. Tanz stepped through the doorway, ice crunching beneath his boots. He walked out into a large room, that was completely barren. Stairs led down to a slightly lower level where a door to another hallway sat. To Tanz's left was another door that led upward. The wall on his right was pockmarked with holes that led into a ice encrusted cave. Tanz walked down the steps and peered out of one of the man-sized holes.

The caves walls were entirely covered in ice. There was another flight of stairs and another doorway. It seemed to be on the same side as the door on his level. He guessed that the one closest to him led to the one below. Just below Tanz was a wooden scaffold, about an eight-foot drop he estimated. Connected to the scaffold was a riser with stairs leading down another level. Guarding one of the doors were two draugr.

Tanz instinctively moved back in attempt to hide from the living corpses. They hadn't noticed him, as they were facing the other way, toward the door. Tanz peered down over the edge and dropped down. He felt a small pain in his heels as he landed, but otherwise was fine. The undead had heard however, and had already ran up the steps to meet him. Tanz recon hurled his sword, while simultaneously launching a firebolt into one of the oncoming draugr.

The draugr blocked with a wooden shield. Clearly draugr weren't smart, but they were formidable. The shield caught fire and the zombie threw it away. The shield flew into a wall and shattered. The two draugr charged at Tanz, releasing their odd grunting noises.

"Koh!" One of them grunted. The other stopped its charge and pulled a bow from its back. Did they understand each other? The other continued its charge and Tanz raised his sword in anticipation. The draugr arrived in front of Tanz and he swung. His sword met the monster's and Tanz's arm recoiled. An arrow flew past Tanz, narrowly missing his shoulder by a few inches. The draugr swung its sword and Tanz easily dodged. He rammed his soldier into the corpse and it flopped onto the ground. Tanz sprinted toward the archer, just as another arrow passed by. Apparently the undead weren't the best archers.

Tanz rushed forward and sank his blade into the corpses rib cage. The draugr grunted and grabbed Tanz's robes. Tanz yanked the sword from the creatures chest and rammed a fist into the draugr's jaw. Tanz reached out and placed a hand on the draugr's chest and discharged a barrier. The draugr slammed into the ground and its skull shattered. Tanz heard the other draugr approaching behind him.

"Watch out!" Bros spoke up. Bros had been speaking less and less lately, only speaking when spoken too, or when needed.

Tanz wheeled around and swung his sword. The blade sliced through something and two chunks off bone and decayed flesh fell to the ground. Tanz looked down at the two draugr for a moment before moving on. He walked down the stairs and noticed another doorway. He walked up to the door and pushed it open. The wooden door creaked open and, just as it was half way open, it shattered into pieces, splinters flying out in all directions. Tanz jumped backwards, and prepared a flame spell. A draugr stood on the other side of the doorway, holding an axe that was embedded in the wooden door.

The draugr yanked the axe from the door, causing more splinters to fall to the ground. Tanz brought his hands together and readied a flame spell. The draugr stepped forward and Tanz cast a stream of fire into the creatures chest. The draugr burst into flames and fell to the ground. Tanz walked through the door, stepping over the dead draugr as he went. He walked down the hall and took a left. He pushed open a door and walked through a few more halls. He entered a large empty cha,her with a bridge made of ice. On the other side of the bridge was an ice cave. Tanz carefully walked across the bridge, and had almost reached the other side when he heard a crack.

He glanced down and saw a widening crack, right down the middle of the ice bridge. The bridge couldn't support his weight. The Argonian took a cautious step forward and heard another crack. Tanz sucked in a deep breath and sprinted toward the other side. Tanz reached the other side and looked back at the bridge. There was a series of jagged lines crisscrossing the bridge. Tanz hoped it would hold, that might be his way out. He walked up a slope and entered another room, made entirely of ice.

"The Augur?" Bros asked.

"Probably..." Tanz said.

"There is no help for you here..." A voice said, echoing through the halls. It sounded like it had come from his left, down another passageway, but the echoes made it hard to tell. Tanz walked through the doorway and down a flight of stairs. "There is no solace in knowing what is to come..." The voice spoke up. Tanz looked toward the voice and saw a closed door. The voice seemed to emanate from right behind the door. Tanz approached the door and pulled on the knob, but it stayed locked in place.

"Locked..." Tanz said, and released an exasperated sigh.

"Your perseverance will only lead to disappointment." Tanz yanked forcefully on the knob again, but the door refused to move. "Still you persist? Very well, you may enter." The door swung open and a bright light appeared from nowhere, shining in Tanz's eyes. Tanz squinted and looked upon the glowing object in front of him. It was a ball of pure, blue magicka, like the ones in the Hall of the Elements. The room was mostly empty, except for a large magicka well that the orb floated above.

"So you're the Augur of Dunlain?" Tanz asked, staring at the blue orb, "I was expecting... A person."

"I'm that which you have been seeking... Your efforts are in vain. It has already begun. But those who have sent you have not told you what they seek. What you seek." The orb said ominously.

"And what is it I'm seeking?" The Argonian asked, crossing his arms.

"You seek that which all who wield magic seek. Knowledge. You shall find this: Knowledge will corrupt. It will destroy. It will consume. You seek meaning, shelter in Knowledge. You will not find it. The Thalmor sought the same thing, and it will lead to his end, as it has many others." The Augur solemnly said.

"Thalmor? What Thalmor?" Tanz asked.

"The one who calls himself Ancano. he seeks information about the Eye, but what he will find shall be quite different. His path will cross yours in time, but first you must find that which you need." He responded.

"What do I need?" Tanz questioned.

"You, and those aiding you, wish to know more about the Eye of Magnus. You wish to avoid the disaster of which you are not yet aware. To see through Magnus' Eye without being blinded, you require his staff. Events now spiral quickly towards the inevitable center, so you must act with haste. Take this knowledge to your Arch-Mage." The entity said, and just as quickly as he had appeared, vanished. Tanz stood there for a moment, going over the information in his head. He needed to find the staff of Magnus. The only problem was he had no idea to even look for it, but Tanz suspected the Arch-Mage would know.

"I never liked that Thalmor, Ancano." Bros said.

"Me neither. Something about him is... Off." Tanz said.

"Keep an eye on him." Bros said. "He could be a problem in the future."

Tanz walked back out of the room and after a few minutes, found a way out. After a few more, he was back at the college. He walked into the Hall of the Elements and found all the instructors gathered around the Eye. Tanz walked up to Savos and tapped a finger on his shoulder. The Arch-Mage turned and flashed a sort of half-smile.

"I have some important information for you." Tanz said. Savos looked at him oddly and laid his hands on his hips.

"Really? And what might that be?" Savos asked.

"We need to find the staff of Magnus."

"Well... I'd certainly love to have such a powerful staff, but I'm not sure we really need it."

"Its connected to the Eye."

"That seems to make sense, given there names... But how do you know this?"

"I spoke with the Augur of Dunlain." Tanz said.

"Did you really? And he specifically mentioned the staff?" Savos asked. Tanz nodded in confirmation. "I'm impressed with your initiative. Would you mind looking into this?"

"Alright... I really could use some help though." Tanz said. The Arch-Mage nodded.

"Of course. Now, something as specific and ancient as the staff of Magnus... I'm not sure where to start looking for that." He said. "I seem to remember Mirabelle mentioning the staff somewhat recently..." He turned around and ushered someone over. Mirabelle walked over to the two mages.

"Yes?" She asked.

"I need you to tell our young friend about the staff of Magnus. I recall you mentioning it earlier." Savos said.

"Yes, I suppose I did mention it. I remember I brought it up when the Synod showed up looking for it. They were under the impression that we were hiding it in a closet somewhere." She explained.

"Who are the Synod?" Tanz asked.

"A group of mages based out of Cyrodiil. The fancy themselves the Imperial authority on magic these past few hundred years. My understanding is that all they really do is make noise in an attempt to curry favor with the Emperor. Lots of politics, little magic." Mirabelle said, "I was quite surprised to find them on our doorstep. They seemed amiable enough, but their line of questioning made me... Uneasy... It became they're trying to hoard powerful artifacts, looking to consolidate power."

"So no one knows the staff's location?" Tanz asked.

"No one here does," She said, "the Synod seemed convinced it was somewhere in Skyrim. They inquired about the ruins of Mzulft, but that's all I remember. It sounded like they were heading there, though they were rather secretive about why. I suppose if your intent on looking for the staff, they might be in Mzulft yet. Just don't expect them to be cooperative."

"So I should look in Mzulft?" Tanz asked. Mirabelle nodded and pulled out a piece of paper.

"Here's a map, I've marked the location on this map. Its a dwarves ruin, so I recommend someone goes with you." Mirabelle said, handing him the map. Tanz nodded and accepted the map. He looked at the location, rolled the paper up and stuffed it in his pocket. Savos looked down, as if he was thinking, and then his head perked back up.

"Varain and Alana should go with you." Savos said. Tanz looked at him expectantly, waiting for more information.

"Varain is our top student in destruction and very experienced in conjuration magic, though arrogant at times. And Alana is our top student in illusion and alteration magic." Mirabelle explained. "They're skills would be invaluable in this undertaking. They're both in the Hall of Countenance. Go get them and explain the situation. Tell them to help you search for the Synod." Tanz nodded and set off to find the two apprentices, but a hand caught his arm. He turned to see Savos, who had a concerned look on his face.

"Mzulft is a Dwemer ruin, and therefore extremely dangerous. The traps and automatons inside are likely still active, along with whatever else that may reside within." He said with a cautious stare. "Be careful and watch each other's backs while your in there. There's no telling what dangers are waiting for you." Tanz nodded as if he understood, and walked out to fetch his new comrades. Hopefully they'd be as good as he was told they were...

* * *

Tanz stepped up to the giant bronze doors and looked over them with a a thoughtful

gaze. He didn't know much about the Dwemer ruins, except that advanced technology lay inside their ruins. Tanz held a staff in his hand, which had been given to him by Savos. He had been taught how to use it also, and had gathered a small amount of soul gems to replenish its charge. It cast an advanced fire spell, an explosive ball of fire. He was standing outside the ruin of Mzulft with Varain and Alana. They both seemed nice enough, though Varain seemed arrogant at times.

Varain was an Imperial, dark hair, green eyes, and an eager face. He wore an black-purple variation of the college robes, like Tanz, but without the hood. Alana was a Breton, strikingly beautiful, blonde hair, blue eyes, and long bangs that fell down in front if her eyes. She wore a orange-brown variation of the college robes instead, but with the hood pulled over her head.

She was different than Varain however. She seemed more cautious, reluctant even. She'd barely spoke on they're way there. They were both two of the top students at the college, specializing in their areas of study. Varain specialized in destruction and dabbled in conjuration. In that way he was a lot like Tanz. Tanz's sword summoning spell was technically a conjuration spell, along with his flame atronach spell. Alana was an expert in illusion magic, which focused on tricking, confusing, or frightening enemies. She also had experience in most other schools, but nothing of particular interest.

Tanz specialized in destruction and conjuration also, but likely not to the same extent of Varain. Tanz knew a few spells in the alteration school, such as Telekinesis. He also knew spells in illusion, like his fear and calm spells. And like all mages, he knew a healing spell. Minor healing and destruction spells are the first spells mages learn, as they use little magicka. When a mage becomes more skilled in a specific field of magic, even the most minor flame spell can become dangerous.

"Huh... I was expecting it to be more... Monolithic..." Varain said. Tanz released a sigh and stepped forward.

"Well, lets get going." Tanz said, stepping up to the door.

"So, what exactly are we doing here?" Alana asked.

"We need to find the staff of Magnus, and the Synod might know where it is. Mirabelle thinks that the Synod were heading here." Tanz answered. He pushed open the door with his shoulder and ushered the others inside. Tanz immediately noticed the light. An strange blue-green light emanated from objects in the corners and on the walls of the rooms. The glowing object still only provided little light. Luckily they had brought a torch if the need for more light came up. The three stood, looking around the room a moment before moving toward the next door. Before Tanz could attempt to open the door, a ragged, pained voice spoke up.

"Crystal... Gone..." The voice came from the corner of the room. Upon closer inspection, the three saw a wounded Redguard man, in flowing blue robes, sitting in the corner. His robes were covered in his, or maybe someone else's blood. A small, but deep hole from a blade had punctured his chest, and blood sealed out with each ragged breath he took. The man seemed to have been trying to stop the bleeding, but had given up. Tanz walked over and knelt down.

"Calm down and hold still." Tanz said. He held a hand above the wound and started to cast a healing spell. The man pushed the hand away and grabbed a handful of Tanz's shirt with a bloody hand. Varain and Alana looked at the man worriedly.

"No... Listen..." He said, blood pouring over his lips as he spoke. "Find Paratus... In... The Oculary..." He weakly reached into his pocket and handed Tanz a key. With a final breath he squeezed Tanz hand before his life ended, and his eyes seemed to lose color. Tanz placed the man's hands on his chest, and closed his eyes. Tanz looked over the key and then to the door. He looked back to the man and released a breath he hadn't known he was holding.

"Poor soul... Let him rest peacefully wherever he has gone..." Bros spoke up again.

"Come on... Let's go." Tanz said. He walked up to the door and inserted the key into a slot. He turned the key and heard a click. The door slid open and Tanz pulled the key from the opening. He ushered for the others to follow and beep gun walking through the halls. The first few halls were made of stone and a bronze-like metal, and supported by stone pillars. The three walked through the halls without incident before meeting another door. Tanz pushed it open and hot steam blasted out into the hall. Tanz fell backwards from the heat and coughed. Varain helped him up and Tanz rubbed his eyes.

"What was that?" Alana asked. Varain stepped forward and slowly opened the door, letting the gas out more slowly. A white haze sealed out into the hall, obscuring the mages' view.

"I don't know, looks like a gas room." Varain said, "Lets hope its not poisonous." The three slowly stepped into the room and walked through the gas, looking for an exit. After a minute of searching, they heard a clacking sound. Tanz looked around and saw something over by a wall. It was low to the ground, and looked to be made of the same metal as the pipes and nodes that were real easing the gases. It had multiple arms and a glowing purple gem inside of it.

It seemed to be moving away from them, but turned, and rushed toward them quickly. It resembled a spider, but was made of metal. This must have been one of the automatons that Savos had mentioned. Tanz readied a barrier in hisnright hand, holding the staff in his left, and the machine hurled itself toward him. It landed on the barrier and Tanz discharged, sending the metal beast into a wall. The machine shattered into pieces and the gem's glow faded slightly.

"Watch out for more of those things." Tanz ordered. The three continued through the room and found there way through another door. The haze cleared away and they delved deeper into the ruin. They walked deeper into the halls of Mzulft, dispatching the Dwemer constructs as they did. After walking through a few halls, they reached an entrance to a cave. They walked through the cave before finding another dead body. This time it was an Imperial, but he wore the same robes as the other man at the entrance.

They came to a large chamber with a few crudely built scaffolds, and more bodies. Tanz stepped into the room and heard a chittering noise. He turned to the others and gestured for them to wait. Tanz crept forward and slowly raised a hand. He rounded the a corner and a black creatures leapt from the darkness. Tanz aimed his hand away from his chest and sent an arc of lightning at the black mass.

The attack connected, and currents of electricity danced across the creatures skin. It knocked the creature onto its back and it flailed about in a rage. Tanz glared at the creature that was thrashing about in front of him. It looked like a giant insect, not one of the giant spiders, but more of a beetle. It had a long, elongated neck and two pincers on its head. It had a dark blue exoskeleton and four, long legs. It rolled over onto its stomach and hissed.

"Its a Chaurus." Bros said. "Its bites are poisonous, see the green on its pincers."

"A Chaurus?" Tanz asked.

The monster made a gurgling noise and spat a green liquid at Tanz. "What the-" tt said as the liquid hurtled toward him. The liquid had almost reached Tanz when it froze in mid-air, fell to the ground, and shattered on impact. Tanz looked to his right and saw Varain with his hand outstretched. He had cast a freezing spell on the liquid to stop its flight. Tanz aimed back at the Chaurus and launched a lightning bolt into the creatures neck. The bug spasmed and fell limp, and ceased to move ever again. Tanz turned to Varain and nodded in silent thanks. Varain nodded back understanding. From deeper into the cave, a shriek rang out. Something moved in the darkness and Tanz prepared a fire spell.

"Careful child, where there's Chaurus, there's Falmer." Bros said.

"Falmer?" Tanz asked in a whisper.

"Falmer are believed to be snow elves, transformed by years of cave-dwelling. They're practically blind, but they're hearing and smell is heightened by this. And they use deadly poison, along with magic." Bros explained. "The Falmer are likely what killed these men we're finding."

The two apprentices looked at him impatiently. "What are you waiting for?" Varain asked. Tanz shook his head and ushered for them to follow. he put and finger to his lips, silently telling them to be quiet. The three quietly proceeded down the hallway, watching for more Chaurus and the supposed Falmer. Tanz readied his both casting arms for conjurations. Recently he'd been practicing with two swords along with his sword and shield technique. He named his shield and sword form the Deathbell technique, after the flower. And his dual sword form the Canis Technique, after the root.

Tanz had been strengthening his left arm, as he was naturally right handed, for fighting with two swords. The three walked through the cave and reentered the dwemer ruin, and proceeded through, dispatching the dwarven automatons. After a short while, they again entered another cave. A few glowing plants and rocks were the only things that provided the light that lit the room. The three slowly walked through the room. A hut made out of... Something... sat in the corner of the room. Tanz walked over to the hut, looking for an entrance. He found an open doorway, and he peered inside. A short, tan creature sat, huddled in the corner.

The first thing he noticed was its face. It was horrid. Its ears were long, like an elves. Bros had said they might have been elves at one point. Its nose was flat against its face, with giant nostrils. Its eyes were closed by the looks of it, but it seemed they wouldn't do any better if they were open. The creature was probably just as blind with its eyes open as it would be if they were closed. It was sleeping, its arms and legs folded. It wore almost no cloths, except for an undergarment, cod piece, and gauntlets. Tanz crawled forward and summoned a sword in his right hand. He raised it and readied his hand to muffle the creatures cries. He sunk the blade into the creatures chest and grasped the Falmer's jaw, silencing its pained screams.

Tanz didn't know if Falmer were smart enough to speak, well, speak like most other races. Tanz released his grip on the blade and the sword evaporated into thin air, leaving a medium-sized hole in the creatures chest. Tanz searched for any more of the monsters and, finding none continued to move through the cave with Varain and Alana. They walked through the passageways, carefully watching for any other threats. Tanz strode around a corner and heard a noise above him. He glanced up and a Falmer sat hanging from the ceiling, hands grasping stalactites.

The Falmer dropped from the ceiling and tackled Tanz. The two restyled on the ground before Tanz pushed the creature off with a barrier. Tanz rose to a knee and readied the staff to fire. The Falmer tilted its hand and ran off, deeper into the cave. Varain spoke up.

"Should we go after it?" He asked, anticipation in his voice. Tanz nodded and narrowed his eyes. Like he'd let that thing get away that easily.

"Let's..." Tanz answered. He rose to his feet and sprinted off after the mer. Tanz grimaced as he entered another long hallway, the other mages trailing behind him. The creature had already ran down the length of the hall, and was entering a large room.

"Tanz! He's going to warn his friends." Bros instructed. "Stop it before it reaches them!" Tanz clenched his fists as he stared at the fleeing creature. He had been becoming more and more angry since he had left the college. He had been going over the situation over and over. Why was this *his* responsibility? Surely someone else would be able to handle this, and with greater ease. The Arch- Mage, Mirabelle... Dammit, even J'zargo could probably handle this more easily than he could.

Tanz looked over his shoulder for his comrades and saw the, round the corner, out of breath. That's when Tanz noticed the adrenaline rushing through his veins. That strange breathlessness, yet filled with endless will and energy. The excitement of fighting. He had always loved the feeling. Tanz had pondered the reason why he had loved that feeling, and still hadn't come up with an answer for that nagging question. Tanz set aside the overwhelming sea of thoughts and locked them behind one of the weakly built gates that waited in his mind. But sometime in the future, Tanz knew the gate would break, and the mage would have to deal with the thought and emotions he had bottled up or stored away over all this time.

Tanz sprinted down the hall, gaining ground on the monster ahead of him. Tanz aimed a hand, still running, and fired a volley of ice shards. The shards spread toward the retreating creature, and just before they hit, the mer seemed to walk into the ground. Tanz cursed his luck and caught reached the end of the hall. A small flight of stairs led down to a long rectangular room with massive pillars supporting the roof. The Falmer stood at the bottom of the stairs along with three more Falmer. Tanz pulled the staff off his shoulder, as he He had strapped it to his back, and charged it. He aimed for the center of the group and fired.

Three of the four Falmer evaded the attack, while the one was vaporized in a flash of orange and red. The remaining mer glared up at Tanz, anger in their eyes. Tanz chart the staff again and fired another ball of flame at the group, the shoot completely missed, and the creatures spread out. One of the monster drew a bow and rested the arrow on the nocking. Tanz prepared to block the attack and readied a barrier. Tanz heard footsteps behind him and glanced over his shoulders.

Varain and Alana stood behind him, reading spells. They didn't see the archer however, and the bowmen switched targets, now aiming at Alana. Tanz saw this and readied separate barriers in two hands. The archer released the arrow and it flung toward the three mages. Tanz reached out and blocked the arrow with a barrier, and returned fire, launching a salvo of ice shards. The shards impacted on the archer's chest and the force threw the creature to the ground.

*Cant these people protect themselves...?* Varain launched a lightning bolt into the other Falmer's chest, and it fell with a thud. The final monster blindly shrieked and charged, raising an axe-like weapon above its head. It started up the steps and shrieked again. Alana raised a hand in the air and a red glow emanated from here palm. Tanz looked up at her hand and suddenly became frightened. She was casting a fear spell to ward of the creatures. Tanz turned back to the creatures and watched them back away, both terrified and mesmerized by the spell.

Tanz launched a lightning bolt at the nearest Falmer and it connected. The mer tumbled to the ground, smoke rising from its chest. The fear spell began to falter and the creatures regained their senses. One of the older looking Falmer raised a hand and threw something at the ground. Suddenly, a portal appeared and a lumbering blue beast came out. Tanz recognized it as a ice atronach, one of the three summonable atronachs. There were fire, like Fera, ice, like the one in front of him, and storm, which he had yet to see.

Fire and storm atronachs were suited for distance fighting, while ice atronachs were better at close combat fighting. The atronach stepped forward and waved a club like-arm above its head. Tanz aimed a hand at the beast, and cast a wall of flame into the monsters torso. The beast charged through the flames toward Varain, taking the full blunt of the attack, and readied its club-arm. Tanz looked over at Varain, who was paying attention to one of the Falmer to his right, unaware of the behemoth about to pulverize him. Tanz grabbed Varain's bicep and pulled out of the way of the atronach's attack.

The ice monster brought its arm down on the spot where Varain was standing, leaving a crater in the ancient stone. The Argonian looked to Varain, furious. "Watch your back, so I don't have to!" He shouted. He didn't want them to get hurt, but he didn't want to watch them like a mother watching a toddler. Then Tanz realized: though these mages were the top of their classes, they hadn't actually fought another creature before. There was no time to teach them however, so Tanz *would* have to watch their backs.

Tanz looked up to see the Atronach stamping over toward them. The atronach didn't have a face, not one that he could see. It was just a chunk of ice with legs and arms. Its left arm was like a club, long and cylindrical, while the right was more of a spike. Tanz shoved Varain to the side and jumped back as the creature drove its spike-arm in between them. Tanz gritted his teeth as bits of stone flew out of the wall, where the spike had collided. The spike was halfway into the wall, keeping the atronach in place. It was blindly pulling on its arm, willing the spike to come out of the wall.

"Bros, give me your strength for a minute." Tanz said. He'd remembered what Bros had said during his first visit to Quagmire. Tanz could use some of Bros' skills and strength. Tanz dropped the metal staff onto the ground and readied his sword arm.

"Right." Bros said.

Tanz suddenly felt a rush of energy and summoned his sword. The sword formed within a second and he gripped its handle. The mage rushed forward and raised the sword above his head. Tanz brought the sword down on the creatures arm and it stabbed through the ice. A dozen long cracks spread out along the monster's arm Tanz released the sword. The weapon vanished and Tanz placed his hand on the atronach's weakened arm. He cast a barrier and discharged it. A wave of magicka jumped out from Tanz's hand and the arm shattered into pieces.

The atronach reeled back and swung its club-arm at Tanz. The mage ducked under the attack and redo juried the sword. He rammed the sword into the atronach's chest and repeated the maneuver. The behemoth shattered into pieces and small chunks of ice fell to the ground. Tanz heard a cry of pain and looked over his shoulder for its cause. A Falmer had been hit by a shard of ice, and was now face down on the floor, but the creature hadn't been the source of the noise. Tanz rushed to find his comrades, picking up the staff, and ran down a hall.

He walked up a gentle slope and around a corner. Varain and Alana were standing at the end of the hall, casting fire spells at a group of retreating Falmer. Tanz hurried to their side and charged the staff for another attack. The Falmer were backing away into a large doorway, defending themselves with makeshift shields. It seemed they were focused on keeping the mages out. Varain looked back over his shoulder and nodded to Tanz.

"They're retreating into that chamber back there!" Varain said, still casting. Tanz aimed the staff at the phalanx of shields and monsters and released the spell. A ball of fire leapt from the staff's end and impacted on the shield wall. The ball exploded, knocking the creatures to the ground. The three mages rushed past the group of burned Falmer and through one of the doorways at the end of the hall. Tanz readied a lightning bolt and quickly looked over the room. Two sets of stairs led up to a doorway, guarded by two Falmer. Another stood on the other side of the large room, holding a bow.

The bowmen quickly drew an arrow from its quiver and aimed at Tanz. It released the arrow and the projectile flung from the bow. Tanz canceled the already charged spell and cast a barrier at a slanted angle. The arrow collided with the barrier and bounced off, hitting a wall behind him. Tanz charged another lighting bolt and aimed at the archer before releasing it. The bolt raced across the space between them and collided with the Falmer.

The creature fell onto its back, and a column of smoke rose from its chest. Tanz turned to see Varain electrocute another Falmer. Another creature rushed toward Tanz with a sword. The Argonian conjured a sword and raised it, just in time to block an attack from the Falmer. The Falmer recoiled from the attack and snarled.

Tanz quickly thrust the sword forward and felt the blade cut through its abdomen. A river of blood fell from the wound and Tanz yanked the sword out of the monsters gullet. It slumped to its knees and finally fell onto its side. An explosion of fire lit up a section of the room, and Tanz heard the cries of multiple Falmer. Varain stood with his hands outstretched, and a ball of flame hovered above his palm.

Tanz looked around the room for more Falmer, but found none. The three mages looked over the corpses, ready for another challenge. The room fell still, and the mages headed over to the next passageway. Tanz had just stepped over one of the dead Falmer when he noticed a glint on one of the corpses. In one of the creatures hands was a crystal. The Falmer grasped it in its left hand, and still held on to it as it died. Tanz knelt down and pried the crystal out of the dead creatures claws. He quickly looked over it and stuffed it in his pocket. This must have been the crystal the Redgaurd had mentioned.

"Tanz! Come on!" Varain shouted. Tanz looked up and saw the other two mages by a large doorway. Tanz stood back up and walked over to the two. He hoped that they would find this Paratus soon. Tanz ushered for the two mages to follow him and he proceeded through the hallway. He would soon find the last surviving Synod in the ruin, and discover the location of the famed Staff of Magnus. But it may be more difficult to retrieve than previously thought...


	21. Troubling Circumstances

**Hello everyone! I'm back with a new... Umm... "exciting" chapter, after a long brea**k. **This chapter has a lot of talking, hence the quotes. But the next chapter will have a lot of action. I've noticed a lot of weird typos while proofreading. I write these on my Ipad, because its easier for me and I type faster with a Ipad than with a PC. But sometimes I type something wrong and it'll autocorrect and make it... Weird. Anyways, were coming to a close with Thaumaturge, at least for now. I've already started working on some future projects as well as some other stories I've already posted that I may or may not continue. Also, I changed the title. But enough talking. Enjoy this chapter of Thaumaturge! Read on!**

"This way..." Tanz said, leading the other two mages. They'd searched every chamber they'd come across for Paratus, whoever he was. Tanz guessed he was already dead, but though he could find the Staff's location even if he was dead. They walked down the passageway and reached a large metal door. It was the same bronze color as everything else in the ruins. Tanz placed a hand on one of the double doors and pushed. The door creaked, but refused to move. Tanz groaned as he stepped away from the door.

"Locked... Damn." Tanz said, examining the door. A voice spoke up from behind the door.

"G...Gavros is that you?" The voice said, "I'd almost given up hope! Just let me get the door." There was click and the metal door swung open. A Redguard stood in the doorway. "What... Who are you? Where's Gavros?" He asked angrily, readying a spell in his right hand.

"Paratus?" Alana asked. The Synod nodded, looking at the mages warily. He was a Redguard with very dark skin, and he wore the robes that the other Synod corpses had been wearing.

"What have you done with Gavros?" He asked. The three mages looked between each other.

"I'm afraid he's dead." Tanz answered. Paratus scowled and lowered his hand.

"It was the damned Falmer wasn't it?" He asked, earning a nod from Tanz. "Curse them! They've ruined everything!" He rubbed the bridge of his nose with his hand and sighed. "If Gavros is gone, there is no hope. He was supposed to return with the crystal... Without that, we might as well give up."

"Give up on what? What are the Synod doing here?" Alana asked. The Redguard turned to look at the mages with a frustrated expression.

"I could ask you the same..." He muttered.

"We're from the College of Winterhold, we came in search of the Staff of Magnus. We thought the Synod might know where it is." Tanz said. The sound of footsteps echoed from down the hall and Paratus quickly gestured for them to get inside.

"Quickly, get in. I'll lock the door." He said. The three rushed in and the Redguard pushed the doors into place. He inserted a key into a slot and locked the door. "There..." He stepped back and put the key into his pocket. The room was littered with items. Empty bottles sat on the floor, along with boxes and barrels, presumably filled with food. A few bed rolls lay on the other side of the room. "Damned Falmer will be the death of us all! I knew this would be too dangerous! I told them, but did they listen? No-" He raved.

"What's this about a crystal?" Varain's asked, stopping the man's incessant ramblings. The man looked up at Varain with wide eyes.

"Haven't you been listening?" He asked angrily.

"You haven't told us anything!" Tanz shouted, experiencing an ever growing annoyance by the half-sane man's antics. The Redguard looked at Tanz, then to the ground, in deep thought.

"Oh, yes... Yes your right." He said after a moment, realizing his mistake. "The crystal didnt work the first time. I tried to tell Gavros, but he wouldn't listen. 'No it won't be to cold' he said. But I was right! The cold had warped it! It was focused completely wrong by the time we got here. Gavros had to bring it all the back to Cyrodiil, leaving us to fend off the damnable Falmer!"

"I think I have the crystal you're talking about." Tanz said, reaching into his pocket. He pulled the fist-sized crystal out and held out for the man to see. A surprised look came across Paratus' face, along with the other mages, and he reached out to take it. Tanz quickly pulled it out of his reach and scowled. "What about the staff?"

"I... I'm afraid I can't help you... Not without _that_ crystal anyways." Paratus said, holding out his hand. Tanz held the crystal close to his side. The crystal was his bargaining chip. If he game him the crystal, he could refuse to help, and Paratus knew that. But he couldn't help without the crystal.

"If I give you the crystal, you have to help us find the staff." Tanz said. The Redguard nodded in silent agreement. Tanz looked down at the crystal and held it out to the Redguard. The Synod took the crystal and smirked.

"Smart move." He said.

"Now, how do we find the staff?" Varain asked.

"Right, follow me..." Paratus said. He turned around and started to walk down the hall. The three followed after as the man rambled. "No matter what Gavros said, this was my idea. The council will know that when I get back. *I* was the one who thought to use this... Oculary... I don't know what the dwarves called it, something unpronounceable I'm sure. From our research, it seems they were intent on discerning the nature of the divine."

The group walked into a large room that mostly occupied by a massive bronze sphere, and a walkway led up to another level. Paratus turned and walked up the ramp along with the other mages. "This machinery, all of it, was designed to collect starlight, and then... I'm not sure. Split it somehow. Let's just hope this works." He said.

They reached the top of the ramp and walked out onto a platform. Another ramp led up to a few pedestals and a group of refractory lenses hung from the ceiling above the sphere. The ceiling was curved and circular with more lenses on tracks. Paratus walked up to the lenses and placed the focusing crystal into a slot by the lenses. A beam of light shot through the ceiling and bounced of one of the lenses. It connected with another lens, and then another, until three beams of light shot out toward the ceiling.

Tanz guessed the lights were supposed to connect with lenses on the ceiling, but they wouldn't hit the lenses in their current state. Hey were offset, aiming to high or too low to hit the lenses.

"Now, as I said before, the cold had warped the crystal. You'll have to refocus the crystal with spells, and that will change where the beams land. I assume you already know them, unless your training is even more sub-standard than I've heard." Paratus said with a smirk. Tanz approached the crystal and aimed a hand at it. He cast a flame spell at the crystal and the beams began to move. They moved away from the tracks however, and Tanz stopped casting when he noticed this. He switched to a ice spell, and sprayed particles of ice onto the crystal the beams moved the opposite direction, towards the tracks. After a few seconds the beams were on the tracks, in the direct paths of the lenses.

"Now those buttons up there should move the lenses." Paratus said, pointing up to the higher level. A loud crash sounded from back the way they had come and the mages looked to each other. "Its the damned Falmer. We'd better hurry before they break down the door."

"How could they break down the door?" Alana asked, "They aren't strong enough to break through." Another crash reverberating through the room.

"This is a dwarven ruin, maybe its one of the machines." Varain guessed.

"Possibly, there was another way out besides the way you came in, but it was locked from the other side." Paratus said. Tanz walked up the ramp and looked over the pedestals in front of him. There were three buttons, with no indication of which lenses it would move. Tanz pressed the farthest button to his left and the top lens moved along the track toward a beam. He continued to press it until the lens hit the beam, and repeated the action with the other lenses. After a few minutes the beams were connected with all the lenses and a projection appeared on a wall. Tanz walked down the ramp and the four mages gathered around it.

"This... These aren't the results I had expected. This projection should be lit up like the night sky." Paratus said.

"This looks like a map of Tamriel..." Tanz said. The projection wasn't complete, A few of the provinces were either missing or incomplete.

"Something is creating an incredible amount of interference. Something in Winterhold it looks like..." Paratus said as he examined the map. He turned to Tanz and glared at him accusingly. "What are you playing at? Is this some sort of attempt to stall my work?" He paused for a second and after a moment, he spoke up again. "You have something at your college don't you?"

"Uh... We may have something..." Tanz answered. The Synod clearly had been here too long. His eyes were wild and threatening, as was his stance. He wasn't about to attack, Tanz knew that much, but he didn't want to provoke him.

"Well, that would explain these results..." Paratus said.

"Can you help us find the Staff of Magnus or not?" Alana asked impatiently.

"Possibly... This map may provide its location, though it is unlikely." Paratus said, moving over to the map. He pointed up to Skyrim with one hand and held out his other to Tanz. "A map, if you will." Tanz reached into his pocket and pulled out a tattered piece of paper.

"Here." Tanz said as he handed him the map. Paratus looked over the map in his hand and on the wall for a moment and then held it up for Tanz to see. He pointed at the northern half of Skyrim, near Morthal.

"See this?" This is the Labyrinthian. This is where your 'Staff of Magnus' is." Paratus said.

"Are you sure?" Tanz asked.

"Oh, most definitely." Paratus assured him. "I won't bother explaining how I came to this conclusion, you probably wouldn't understand anyways. But its most likely that the staff is either here, or... Here..." He moved his finger up out into the ocean.

"Lets hope its the Labyrinthian..." Tanz said. Another crash sounded from below, and the sound of creaking metal filled the room.

"I don't think that's the Falmer." Varain said.

"Conduit, prepare yourself. I fear the Dwemer constructs may be more than you can handle." Bros advised.

"Then what's the point in preparing myself..." Tanz muttered angrily.

"We got what we came for, now lets get out of here." Alana said. The other two mages nodded in agreement and started for the ramp when Paratus spoke up.

"What about me? What about my work?" Paratus exclaimed.

"Come with us if you want," Tanz said "but there's nothing we can do about your project." Another clang came from below, louder this time.

"But..." Paratus begun to argue, when another crash shook the room.

"Are you coming or not?" Varain asked. The Synod looked conflicted for a moment but then shook his head as if to clear it.

"Lead the way." He answered with finality. The four hurried down the ramp down the hall to the locked door they had entered through. Over to their right was another hallway. The door to that hallway was bent and nearly broken down. Something on the other side wanted in.

Another crash sounded from beyond the doorway. Tanz slowly approached the doorway as the crashing increased. Suddenly, a chunk of metal burst through the door. A massive sword stuck out from the other side of the door. Tanz raised his hands and readied ice spells. They seemed to work best against the other Dwemer automatons. The sword vanished from view, obviously pulled out from the other side. Another clang sounded, and one of the double doors flew off its hinges. A cloud of dust rose and the other door was knocked off its hinges.

The dust settled back onto the ground and large bronze automaton stood on the other side of the doorway. It was the size of a giant, with a sword for a right arm and a crossbow on the left. Tanz started to slowly back away when it raised its crossbow arm and fired. Tanz raised his hands and cast a barrier. The arrow slammed into the shield and bounced off.

"Its a Centurion!" Paratus shouted. "It can release a poison gas! Watch yourself!"

"Use ice spells! They're the only thing that will damage it." Tanz said. Tanz aimed for the Centurion's chest and fired a volley of ice shards. The shards slammed into its chest and dug into the metal, but did little to stop it. Alana and Varain did the same, and got similar results. The Centurion ambled over toward Tanz and raised its sword. The Centurion begun to swing at Tanz in a vertical attack. Tanz quickly readied and ice atronach spell and cast it directly in front of him. The atronach appeared, and the sword cut into its 'shoulder'. The sword had cut into the atronach, but did very little damage overall.

The atronach, as big as it was, was dwarfed by the monstrous automaton. The atronach raised one of its spear like arms and rammed it into the Centurions chest. Tanz quickly summoned a sword and ran over to Centurion's right leg. He jabbed it into its leg joint and released the sword. He cast a barrier and discharged it, breaking the leg. The Centurion fell onto its side and Tanz looked to the atronach.

"Smash it!" He commanded. Tanz had no idea how intelligent atronach's were, if they had any at all. He figured simple commands would be enough. The atronach seemed to understand and moved to fulfill its summoner's commands. It raised its club-arm and brought it down on its head, and repeated the action until it was sure it wouldn't get up.

"By the nine, your a terror!" Paratus said, astounded. "I thought we were dead for sure!"

"Well done Conduit, I wouldn't have done it better myself." Bros commended him. The group walked into another room and spotted an exit.

"Lets get out of here." Tanz said.

* * *

"What happened?" Tanz asked. Tanz and the others had just arrived back at the college, only to find a particularly troublesome situation. The Hall of the Elements had been blocked off by a magical barrier. Savos and Mirabelle stood outside the lecture hall examining the barrier.

"Its Ancano, damnable elf. He's doing something to the orb, and he put up this barrier to keep us out." Mirabelle said. "What happened at Mzulft? Do you know the staff's location?"

"Yes." Tanz answered.

"Excellent, I'd suggest you go retrieve it immediately, but right now we have more pressing matters." Savos said, "Ancano has somehow locked himself in the hall, and we need to get in there. Help us get through this will you?" The two mages raised their hands and begun casting spells at it, and Tanz followed suit. He cast a continuous lightning spell and after a moment the ward fell. The three rushed into the room, and spotted Ancano, hands outstretched. His hands were held up to the Eye of Magnus, and a power was being transferred to him.

"Ancano! Stop this at once! I command you!" Savos shouted. The Altmer didn't seem to notice, and kept siphoning energy from the orb. Savos took a few steps forward, spell ready.

"Don't go near him!" Mirabelle warned. Tanz scowled as Ancano began to glow. A power began to gather around the elf. Savos reached out and laid a hand on Ancano's shoulder, there was a flash and the three mages were flung in all directions.

Tanz hit something solid, and fell onto the ground. After a moment he heard a voice, two voices a male and female.

"Conduit, are you alright?" Bros asked in a worried tone.

"I'm fine." Tanz lied, he had a splitting headache, probably a concussion.

"Apprentice, are you alright? Can you walk?" Someone said. He looked up to see Mirabelle, leaning against a pillar.

"Yes... What happened." Tanz answered. Mirabelle's ankle was bent at an odd angle.

"Ancano is doing something to the Eye. I haven't seen Savos since the explosion. He must have been blown clear. I need you to find him! Quickly!" She said.

"What about you?" Tanz asked. She looked over at Ancano, who was still siphoning energy from the orb. Another ward had gathered around him. But it was closer, just large enough to protect him and the eye.

"I'll be fine." She answered. "Go find the Arch-Mage!" Tanz nodded and began searching the area. After searching the Hall of the Elements he rushed outside. There on the ground, was Savos, dead in front of the statue that sat in the center of the courtyard. A few of the mages had gathered around his corpse. Tolfdir stood among them, and upon noticing Tanz rushed over.

"What happened in there? Are you alright?" He asked frantically.

"Its Ancano, he's doing something to the Eye." Tanz answered solemnly.

"By the nine... Did he kill the Arch-Mage?" Tolfdir said. Tanz was about to answer when the Elder spoke up again. "Something's happened to Winterhold, you need to get down there. I'll find Mirabelle and see if we can put a stop to this."

"Where are all the students?" Tanz asked, the mages gathered around Savos's body were all instructors, not a single student was in sight.

"We told them to stay in their dorms. Please hurry and get to Winterhold."

"Alright." Tanz said. He rushed over to the bridge and began to cross over to Winterhold. Halfway across he saw lights, flying through the air around Winterhold. A few guards desperately swung at the object with swords and weapons, but the objects stayed out of reach, dive bombing the guards every now and then. A stream of fire was being sprayed into the air by a mage, but he couldn't tell who.

Tanz rushed across the bridge and into Winterhold. Out of the corner of his eye he saw one of the lights speeding toward him. He turned charged a lightning spell and released it. The spell hit its target and the light exploded. He looked over to see a guard get thrown to the ground by one of the objects. Tanz charged another spell and launched a lightning bolt into the anomaly. The light seemed to collapse in on itself, but at the same time explode. The guard looked to him and nodded somewhat respectfully.

Tanz continued to dispatch the anomalies alongside the guards and the mage. The other mage was Faralda, a master of destruction magic and one of the instructors at the college. Tanz launched a bolt into another light and another swooped down at him. He cast a barrier to block the attack and the anomaly bounced off, flying up into the air. Tanz quickly destroyed it with a lightning spell. After a few moments of fighting, the group finished off the remaining anomalies. Faralda finished of the last of the lights with a fireball and turned to Tanz.

"We have things under control here, go report back to the college." She commanded. Tanz sighed and ran back across the bridge to the college and through the courtyard. He rushed into Hall of the Elements and hurried to Mirabelle. Tolfdir and Colette stood by Mirabelle. Colette was casting a healing spell on her ankle, which was now its its proper place.

"What happened? Is Winterhold safe?" Tolfdir asked.

"Winterhold is safe." Tanz assure him.

"I wish I could say the same for us. Tolfdir and I can keep this contained for now, but you need to find the Staff of Magnus." Mirabelle said.

"Why me?" Tanz asked defensively. "Why not an instructor, like Phinis?"

"Because we have to stay here and keep this contained. And I need someone I can trust. Besides your the one who's been having these 'visions' aren't you?" She said.

"Then I'm off to the Labyrinthian." Tanz conceded. Mirabelle scowled at the word 'Labyrinthian', as if shocked by the word.

"What? Are you sure its there?" She asked. "That can't be a coincidence..."

"What are you talking about? What coincidence?" Tanz asked.

"The Arch-Mage..." She pulled out a black torc and held it up for Tanz to see. "He gave me this some time ago. I think he meant that this was for you but..."

"What?" Tanz asked.

"Nothing... Here, take these tomes and the torc and go get the staff. Be careful." She said. "Good luck, and may the Nine watch over you." Tanz took the items from Mirabelle and put them in his pocket.

"I'll be back with the staff." Tanz assured her. He turned and hurried out the door. He rushed through the courtyard and stopped at the gate, where Trebon and the others were waiting for him.

"Tanz. What is Ancano doing?" Onmund asked.

"I'm not sure, he's doing something to the Eye. I have to go to the Labyrinthian to get the Staff of Magnus."

"The staff... What?" Trebon asked angrily.

"They're sending you to the Labyrinthian?" Brelyna asked. "That's insane! You won't be able to make it through there!"

"If I don't, Ancano could use the Eye to destroy the college... Or worse." Tanz said.

"Let us come with you then. We can help!"

"J'zargo doubts the lizard can make it though without assistance... I will come with you."

"No. Stay here. If I die, I die. But I won't lead you to your own deaths." Tanz argued.

"They won't take no for an answer Conduit." Bros said. "Best to take as few as you can, minimize the losses."

"You can't stop us Tanz, we're coming with you." Brelyna said. Tanz looked at them all. They were determined, that was obvious. Tanz doubted they would survive if they came along. They didn't have any experience fighting like he had, Varain and Alana proved that point. But they would follow him anyway, no matter how much he protested.

"Fine... But only two of you, I'm not risking all of your lives." Tanz said, looking over all of them. "Trebon, Brelyna. Your coming with me then."

"Alright." Trebon said.

Tanz looked them in the eyes and sighed. "There's no promise that you'll come back..." Trebon smirked.

"You think we hadn't thought of that?" He said. "This is bigger than us, if Ancano gains control of the eye, I don't think anyone will be able to stop him." Tanz nodded to them in agreement.

"Alright then, we're off to the Labyrinthian. Lets go get the Staff of Magnus."


End file.
